Responsible
by Mari2Anne
Summary: Post "Doomsday." What happened after Clark Kent declared himself 'dead' and left Chloe...
1. Chapter 1

"**Responsible"**

Author: Mari2Anne

**Disclaimer:**** None of the characters are mine; I do not own them or Smallville.**

**Pairing:**** This definitely belongs in the Chloe/Clark threads**

**Spoilers:**** None, really. Memories from the beginning through Season 8 and beyond; based on one of my ideas about what happens after Clark declares himself 'dead' and 'MY' version &/or interpretation of the things that led up to that. Also, I do not write battle scenes well so I cannot promise any…**

**Status:**** The story is finished, just doing some last minute polishing up of each chapter before posting. **

**Rating:**** PG-13. Angsty at first. But if you've read any of my other stories you know there'll be 'mush' and some 'fluff' …eventually. **

**Warnings:**** Only character deaths that happened in Season 8**

**Hope you enjoy; please forgive any grammatical errors. **

**Feedback is wonderful. But mostly, thank you, thank you so much for reading.**

**Chapter One**

He didn't know why he sought her soon after he'd returned. He told himself he'd done it merely to let her know he was back and just to make sure she was okay. Martha Kent's letter had not been convincing enough. He needed to see for himself that she was well.

He'd used his x-ray vision to search the apartment building she lived in even as he was still hundreds of feet in the sky above Metropolis.

*****

A month ago he would not have dreamed he could just float in the air; it had caught him quite by surprise as many of his powers had when he'd first developed them. Flight had come surprisingly easily to him; he hadn't planned it. He'd run away so fast that day leaving her alone in the midst of that horrible reminder of death he'd told her to abandon.

A wedding present from Jimmy that Clark had told him to keep her and Davis safe in. But there had been no safety within those walls: only anger, jealousy and death.

After the funeral she had tried to convince him she could go on in that morbid place; that she felt Jimmy looking after her. He only saw the blood that still stained the floors and the tears in her eyes. It was more than he could stand. He'd left her. He'd wanted away from her pain; a pain that he could not erase.

A pain he was responsible for.

He'd made it downstairs somehow and ended up in an alley close to the Watchtower building. Her sad tear-filled pleading voice had followed him and by the time he'd found himself in the alley, rage had filled him. It was a more powerful feeling than any anger he'd ever known in his life and it felt so much better than the helplessness that had consumed him in the last few days. Rage that he couldn't show to her; rage that felt so all-consuming in its power he could think of nothing but to run from it before he lost control and became a danger to anyone or anything in his path.

And run he did.

Faster…faster than he'd ever run before with a blindness that he refused to acknowledge as tears…but nevertheless had stopped him from focusing; and, in a sudden last second attempt to avoid crashing into a truck that had suddenly turned into the alley way he was speeding through at the edge of Metropolis, he had leapt into the air.

He was at least ten thousand feet in the air before the roar of an airplane's engines descending towards the Metropolis airport forced him to a sudden stop to avoid a collision. His rage momentarily forgotten, he'd tried to understand what was happening to him when he started to fall, head first towards terra firma. It took him several seconds before he realized he could stop himself from tumbling further. He had done it before as Kal-El many years ago; the knowledge to control flying was second nature…only Clark's fear all these years had stopped him.

That thought brought back the rage and also, though he'd tried to drown it out, a conversation he'd had with Oliver in a bar not too long ago, after Clark had saved both him and Tess. Tess had shown Oliver proof that Lionel had killed his parents.

"_So I hear I'm not the only one in town who owes you a drink," Oliver had started the conversation as he'd passed a report to him. "Lionel Luthor killed my parents…"_

_As he hadn't responded, Oliver voiced his suspicion, "Did you know about this? You were the son Lionel never had; the guy knew everything about you, right? So don't stand there and tell me that you didn't know a couple of his dirty little secrets."_

"_Look, Oliver, I was afraid that you'd do something you'd regret," he'd tried to explain but Oliver was not in an understanding mood._

"_Something I regret? Like what, Clark? You thought I was gonna kill him? Is that it? I wouldn't have killed him. I survived for two years on an island by myself. Clark, when it wasn't pouring rain it was blistering sun. There were mosquitoes that ate me alive. It's okay, because you know what; it made me strong. You may be invincible but you are not fearless, are you? You're afraid to trust your friends. You're afraid to face who you were really meant to be. You're afraid of everything. Maybe you haven't been put to the test yet. Maybe your island's still out there?"_

Oliver had been right, no matter how hard he had tried to deny it; Clark had been afraid of everything. Flying was just the biggest example; more than once he had been reminded that it was something he should be capable of. The young Legionnaire from the future, Garth, hadn't understood why he wasn't flying. Kara had tried to teach him so they would have a chance of leveling the playing field in their battle against Bizarro.

Chloe had even once told him he'd better get on that.

Clark's fear had grounded him.

But no more!

With a determination spurred on by the intense rage, he had known what he'd had to do. He'd righted himself from his unceremonious descent, changed direction toward the north and with a speed that brought a sonic boom in its wake, had headed towards the Fortress. He'd worked to restore what had been damaged during his fight with Davis and to keep it more secure from any future would-be intruders. And then he'd settled into working with Jor-El to learn what else Clark's fear had stopped him from accomplishing.

*****

But his training had stopped suddenly when Jor-El had issued an unexpected warning less than a day ago, "Kal-El, my son, you must go. Zod is building an army."

Kal-El felt momentarily disoriented to be dropped so unexpectedly onto the Fortress floor. As he stood up he voiced his doubt, "Zod is imprisoned in the Phantom Zone, Father."

"He has been released by the one who destroyed the crystal. You must stop him, my son, before his army is complete and he starts on his path of destruction. He has learned much since your last battle. He will be more dangerous."

Kal-El spoke with a new confidence fueled by his new knowledge and to some extent by the rage that still had not completely left him, "I have learned much also. I will not fail you, Father. I will be smarter this time. I won't hesitate to do what is necessary. He will not get the chance to destroy the planet you have taught me to protect." And with that promise he had turned and flown out of the Fortress.

He had stopped at the Kent farm first to gather all the remnants of his Kryptonian heritage that remained buried deep underground in a hidden corner of the fields surrounded by dense brush. He had buried everything there soon after Tess had cornered him in his barn, having gained knowledge about where he kept things hidden through one of her meteor-infected minions disguised as Chloe. He saw a strange vehicle parked next to his truck near the house after he noticed how well cared for the farm looked. He knocked on the door and tried to smile politely as a tall blonde-haired stranger, whom Kal-El guessed couldn't be much older than about thirty-five, opened the door and warmly greeted him.

"Mr. Kent! How good to see you. Your mother said you might stop by some day when you'd done traveling to pick up your things. She had everything packed up nicely… well… some of the furniture is in storage; I believe she said in Metropolis somewhere. Oh, come in please, excuse my bad manners…I'm Jake; we bought the farm from your mother…well, the paperwork's not filed yet…the banks are horribly slow these days, you know; but she wanted us to move in right away so the place could be kept up. We're still unpacking as you can see by all the boxes in the living room. Sorry, I'm rambling. Would you like a drink? Coffee? A soda? Something alcoholic?"

"A glass of water would be welcome," he replied slowly as he tried to absorb what was happening.

"Coming up, right away. Have a seat, Mr. Kent."

Kal-El sat down at the kitchen counter as Jake opened the fridge and retrieved a jug of cold water and two glasses from a drying rack next to the sink. "Think I need a cool drink myself. Unpacking in this heat works up a sweat. The wife's in town picking up some things to make for dinner; you're welcome to join us."

"Thank you for the invitation. But I still have to get to Metropolis before the banks close this afternoon," he declined politely.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Here, your mother left this large envelope for you. I believe a set of your truck keys are in it. The other set I have right here in my pocket; let me get them off my key ring. There. She said she'd also enclose some papers you need to sign and drop off at the bank. Something about you having to authorize that it was okay for her to sell the farm since it's half yours. If you don't have time I can drop it off at the bank for you tomorrow; I have to go there anyway. I don't think your signature needs to be notarized; she said the banker knows your signature quite well."

Kal-El lifted the glass to his lips and downed it completely before telling Jake, "Thank you." Nothing in his motions or in his voice gave Jake any clue that he had not known about his percentage of ownership in the farm. The months after Jonathan's death were not easy memories; he tried to bury them but in reality he never forgot anything. So even though he could recall Martha telling him during those troubling times that the banker had found a life insurance policy that paid off the mortgages on the farm, she definitely had never told him she had changed the title on the farm to include him as half-owner.

He tore open the envelope which had 'Clark Kent' written on the front in Martha's very legible handwriting, took out and pocketed his truck keys before pulling out another smaller envelope with the bank's name and logo in the upper left corner containing the papers from the bank. He read them quickly but carefully and signed in the three places indicated by red check marks and yellow 'sign here' tabs. He folded them back into the envelope, sealed it and handed it to Jake.

"I hope my delayed return isn't the reason for the hold-up on getting the deed filed," he said in way of an apology.

"Oh, no, Mr. Kent. The banker said this is just a formality. The bank is just rather busy with foreclosures at a record high and the little lady at the loan desk said they're short-handed because several people got laid off. It'll all get done, just at a slower pace."

Kal-El stood up, thanked Jake and wished him luck with the farm as he shook his hand before leaving. Jake helped him take out his suitcases and boxes Martha had stored under the staircase closet and load them into the back of the pick-up. To his surprise, the truck started up on the first turn of the key. Maybe Martha had asked Jake to keep it in running condition; it also looked newly washed and waxed.

He drove slowly to the Kawachi caves and with very little effort had caused a small avalanche to close up the entrance so only he could find the way in. He knew the Fortress would have to become a safe haven for him in case he suffered any unexpected setbacks in his mission to stop Zod; and he had to insure Zod would never be able to find him there. Until he learned who Zod's current vessel was he could take no chances. He hoped that Tess didn't know that the Fortress had been rebuilt. He wasn't sure if she even knew about the Fortress. As far as he could calculate she would have had no idea what Lex had found in that ice-covered country because it had been completely destroyed with him and Lex trapped inside; there had been no trace of the structure left by the time Tess and her people arrived to search for Lex.

He doubted Davis could have shared any knowledge about the Fortress with her. He had never come there on his own and had no contact with Tess after his final departure from the Fortress with Chloe.

For a moment Kal wondered if Tess was even still alive and working with Zod or being used by him to bring forth the destruction of humanity. He quickly dismissed the thought; he would find out soon enough. He still had much left to do.

The next step would be to try and get a loan from his banker in Metropolis for a down-payment on a warehouse. He needed a place to make his battle plans.

After leaving the caves, he drove half way to Metropolis before pulling over and parking on the side of the road. He slowly picked up the large envelope from where he'd tossed it onto the passenger seat and took out the other small envelope he'd almost forgotten Martha had left for him. He smiled for the first time in a month when he recognized the pink stationery with her embossed _**MK**_ in the corners and 'Clark Kent' printed neatly on the envelope.

It was a short letter.

"_My dearest Clark. I don't know how long it will be before you read this; but if you are I know you've found out about the farm. The young couple buying it put down a fifty thousand dollar deposit. Without the farm bills I have no need for the extra money right now so I deposited all of that into your account at the Metropolis Savings. I'm also enclosing a receipt for the storage unit in Metropolis if you need any of the furniture. If you don't want to come live in Washington with me when you get back, use the money to buy or lease yourself a place wherever you decide to settle. Just know, my son, you will always have a home with me and Shelby!_

_I spoke to Chloe a few days after Jimmy's funeral and she explained everything, even your last conversation with her. Even though Lois is still missing, I know Chloe will soon be better; she is the strongest friend you have and she was very worried about you. Since there has been no word from you and no sign of you in Metropolis I can only hope you have traveled north to finish your journey. I miss you every day, my son, and pray that you are well. Come home when you can. Love, Mom."_

He was pleased she had taken Shelby with her to Washington. He smiled for another moment as he slowly folded the letter and put it back into the envelope. Martha had been so careful in her words in case someone else read the letter.

He had no trouble at the bank. Even though he was currently without employment, he'd had substantial funds in his account even before the deposit from the farm sale and being the Senator's son hadn't hurt him either. The loan officer had told him there was a letter in his file that the Senator would co-sign any line of credit should he need it. He signed and initialed an endless ream of papers and soon had a line of credit account opened for the maximum amount they could lend him. With enough cash in his pocket to take care of the next step in his plan, he was done in less than two hours.

It left him enough daylight to start searching for a suitable warehouse to lease. During his 'Red-K' summer in Metropolis as well as his time at the Daily Planet he'd learned of enough people who made all deals in cash; and if names were necessary they were usually aliases. He wanted to be as untraceable as possible. The search did not take him long. He had very few requirements: it had to be outside of the city; it had to have some kind of office with facilities that could pass for minimum temporary living quarters; and if it didn't have a basement of sorts, it had to at least be on ground that he could dig a tunnel through to get in and out unseen.

Tough economic times seemed to have filtered all the way down to the 'cash-only' transactions on the streets; the 'business' man he ended up dealing with had six empty warehouses for him to choose from, three of which were perfect for his needs; his final decision based on the heavy-duty lead-lined doors and walls of the last place he looked at. After he'd made the deal he still had more than half the cash left in his pocket even though he had paid enough so the landlord wouldn't have to bother him for at least six months. He hoped his battle with Zod would not last that long but Jor-El had warned him to be patient and prepared.

Next, he sold his truck to a used car dealership. Afterwards he went on a quick clothes-shopping spree. In an alley behind one of the stores he'd super-sped into some of his new clothes and using his heat vision had burned the last of the Clark Kent clothes in an old metal trash can. His last stop was a quick round-trip north. By eight o'clock that night everything that connected him to Clark Kent, including his wallet, was hidden at the Fortress. The only thing left in the city with Clark Kent's name on it were the accounts at the Metropolis Savings Bank; but with the cash he had left it would be quite a while before he'd have the need to do more banking transactions.

He had done enough for the first day. He had decided to get to the warehouse and catch up on some of the sleep he'd missed in the last month. The sudden noise of a robbery in progress in a nearby street caught his super-hearing and he instinctively sped there to stop it. At the last second he stopped himself from getting closer and used only his super breath to blow the gun out of the thief's hand and to knock him onto the ground hard enough so the victim could escape with his life.

After the victim had fled he approached the guy still spread out on the ground and knocked him on the back of the head just hard enough to keep him unconscious until the police arrived. He scanned the area for a public telephone, but not finding one; he borrowed the crook's cell phone careful to not leave any prints and made an anonymous 911 call himself. The victim's wallet in the thief's pocket would probably be enough to earn him a night in jail.

Kal-El walked away quickly, deciding that in the next few weeks he'd have to be careful with any rescues he couldn't leave to the police. The Red Blue Blur had not been spotted or heard from since the disappearance of the creature that had caused so much death and destruction. He didn't want Zod to get too much advance notice that he was back in the city

As he walked aimlessly he suddenly recognized the building he was passing in front of and before he could think about it he was scanning the top floor looking for her. A strange disappointment filled him when he saw the place had been completely deserted. He walked as fast as he could towards the downtown library grateful it was still open and found a computer that wasn't being used by anyone at the moment. He quickly gained access to county records and with some hacking skills he'd picked up from watching Chloe through the years, he was able to find the date she had sold her share in the Watchtower and a listing of the address to which the final sale papers had been mailed to her. He erased the history of the sites he'd scanned and logged out quickly.

He was in the air and floating near the rooftop of the building across the street from her apartment before he'd even consciously thought about looking for her. His x-ray vision found her sitting on a couch with both arms clutching a picture to her chest and her body shaking with gut-wrenching sobs, her eyes swimming with tears.

A month of burying every emotion, of ignoring the pain those tears had caused, of finally thinking he could handle being out amongst people again, was instantly wiped from his mind. He was lucid enough for a moment to realize he hadn't left the Fortress because he was ready to face the world; he'd left because Jor-El had asked him to. He hadn't planned on finding Chloe; he hadn't planned on letting Clark Kent control him again.

Chloe's tears were Clark Kent's biggest weakness, one look from her unhappy eyes had always had the power to burn him to his soul. Why had he buried that? He could have used the warning to stay away.

But it was too late.

He'd gotten too close to the flame, even from outside her apartment window. He hadn't known he'd missed her until he saw her.

He had told her the truth that horrible day: Clark Kent is dead. He had been dead…because he hadn't seen beyond the sorrow in her eyes at the funeral for Jimmy. The price paid for the choices he'd made: Jimmy, a good man whose life was cruelly ended because Clark had been unwilling to cross a line. And destroy an evil merely because he'd been fooled by the disguise of heroic life-saving paramedic. Even though he'd known the truth; Tess had explained it to him. Plus he would never be able to erase the memory of all the remains buried in the field that he had seen with his own x-ray vision. He'd still thought there was someone worth saving; and in his arrogance had succeeded in saving no-one.

Clark Kent had to die, or he could not have continued living; the guilt was unlike anything he'd ever known. It surpassed the death of his father, because in a dream he came to realize his father had not blamed him for that choice.

It surpassed asking Jor-El to wipe Chloe's memories because when the Legion had helped him save her from Brainiac's mind control, her memories were restored. Someday, he would beg her forgiveness for that choice; even though he had suffered the most when she didn't remember _**him**_, it still had been a wrong choice no matter how good his intentions had been.

An ache worse than when his mother had lost the baby because of his irrational disobedience of Jor-El.

It surpassed the guilt of not believing Alicia. Another death to tarnish his soul at an age when he'd had no confidence, and parents that couldn't see beyond their fear for him…they had been so disappointed in him for running away with her. And yet she had filled an ache that had tortured him so much. Someone he could be himself with. And yet he'd not had the courage to tell her he wasn't a meteor freak, but worse, an alien; an alien responsible for so much devastation.

It surpassed the pain of not killing Lex to prevent Zod's takeover; so many people died or were hurt during Dark Thursday; and Lex had lived to murder Lionel.

He remembered the lesson from Jor-El about what would have happened if he'd not arrived on Earth. Sometimes he got too far away from this memory and the guilt overwhelmed him; the fear of disappointing those who depended on him grew heavily on his soul every day. _'You can't save them all, Clark.'_ How many times had he heard it? Maybe not saving everyone would be easier to live with if he'd not caused so many to not be saved.

The memories crashed around him and through him. He lost control of his senses for a moment, his equilibrium failed him and he started to fall. He was almost on the ground in the middle of the street before his instincts took over and he flew speedily away before anyone could catch a glimpse of the fallen hero.

He woke up at first light the next morning on a grass field wet with the dew from an overnight fog. Disoriented he slowly sat up and looked around.

Gravestones.

He was in a cemetery. His eyes focused on the name on the headstone in front of him.

Henry James Olsen.

Jimmy.

---_**To be continued**_---


	2. Chapter 2

"**Responsible"**

**Chapter Two**

Kal-El stood up and sped away. He reached the Fortress in record time without causing any sonic booms on the way. As though he sensed his turmoil, Jor-El did not interrupt as Kal-El paced the floor of the Fortress as if he was possessed.

It was Kal-El in all his strength and confidence and not a broken Clark Kent who finally spoke.

"I cannot bring Jimmy back from the grave for her, Father. How do I stop her tears?"

"Her happiness is important to you, my son?" the question echoed calmly through the Fortress.

"You loved an Earth woman once, Father. You know the pain she felt when you told her she could not leave with you. I felt what her pain did to you. I cease to function when her tears are all I can see. Although he cannot admit it to himself, Clark Kent has loved her for a long time. He could never let her go. It is why he failed at every other relationship he pursued. She was always more important than anything or anyone else in his life. He feels responsible for her pain and as he cannot help her he ceases to exist. I have no hope of defeating Zod if his weakness controls me, Father."

"How do you feel about her, Kal-El?"

His mind focused on a conversation in the barn loft between Clark and Martha after she'd succeeded in freeing him from the Red Kryptonite poison in his system that had caused him to crash Lex and Lana's engagement party.

"_If you hadn't shown up in time I'm not sure what I would have done to Lex._

_How'd you know what to do…?" Clark had asked Martha. _

"_The last time you had some kind of Kryptonite in your system, you had to sweat it out_

_Weakening you seemed to be our only chance."_

"_I just can't believe all those things I did…" he had replied, the shame evident in his tone._

"_I can." Martha had replied._

"_I guess I can't blame you for being mad at me too." Clark was still not sure she would forgive him._

"_Clark, you've walked around here for years bottling everything up; basing every decision on what's best for other people. You never stop to think what's best for you."_

_He was shocked at her conclusion. "Mom, you don't think I really meant those things I said about you and Chloe?" _

"_I think there was a grain of truth in all of it. Every time you've been affected by Red Kryptonite, it hasn't changed who you are; it's just stripped away your inhibitions. I think you need to start being more honest about how you feel."_

"_So, you're saying that I want to kiss Lois, and keep Chloe in my back pocket while the whole time I'm still in love with Lana?" He couldn't believe he could be such a heel!_

"_You're the only one who can sort that out."_

Clark had never truly sorted it out. Kal-El on the other hand had not shied away from the truth Clark could not or would not face.

"I had no trouble letting her know I wanted her many years ago, when Clark's friend drugged me with a Red Kryptonite stone. She is the bravest Earthling I have met. She has protected and saved Clark many times, Father. She has even come to you for help to save him and Kara. What courage it must have taken to face an alien power she didn't know or understand. I would be proud to do anything necessary to bring her happiness."

"Kal-El, you must first prepare to save the planet from Zod. If facing her tears interferes with this mission, you must learn to think of it as the first step towards this goal of bringing her happiness."

"Thank you, Father."

"Be careful, my son."

He sped out of the Fortress and soon found himself back at Jimmy's grave.

"I promise you after I have defeated Zod, her happiness will be my next mission," he swore quietly, a solemn oath from the heart of a very troubled Kal-El.

He sat down on the ground and concentrated on all the ways he had learned in the last month to control his emotions, to look at all possibilities before acting on those emotions. He had learned he needed to use those emotions logically as part of trusting in his natural survival instinct and his knowledge; to not reveal any weakness.

Kal-El faced the problem that he had left the Fortress much too early. There was still too much to learn. Too much he did not yet understand. He knew his problems stemmed from years of denying who he was. The combination of the Kents, in their constant and daily efforts to protect him, and the artificial intelligence his birth father had created, in its earlier constant and misguided efforts to make him accept his destiny and deny his human-learned existence, had only led to an enormous self-doubt. This doubt had often become an unbearable and sometimes even insane ache to be 'normal.'

He had never truly learned to accept his version of normal, and to grow into one complete being, to accept all his traits both natural and nurtured. His life had been a constant battle of which side should be in control and which side did he want to live with. His existence had become a mountain of guilt for all the mistakes he'd made. He thought of himself as two separate entities and lately that had turned him into a soul divided between his good intentions and the evil that had been the end result.

That end result of death and destruction had finally been more than his nurtured side could deal with: to know he could not always save those he was responsible for, not even the ones he loved, people he would outlive and lose anyway, no matter what he did; his denial became complete: human emotions led to dangerous mistakes and must be stopped and thus Clark Kent 'died.' And the previously often-believed evil side, Kal-El, took over; the logical thinking, guilt-free, no-conscience, attachment-free and emotionless Kryptonian who was better equipped to single-handedly save humanity anyway…

Clark had been wrong; it was impossible to 'separate himself' the way the Red or Black Kryptonite had been able to. Kal-El hadn't trained enough to be in complete control yet. But, unless he could gain immediate access to a trained psychiatrist who could understand Kryptonian logic and make immediate sense of the confusion he felt, he knew he didn't have enough time to master this control. Zod would not wait for him to train to become a better fighter.

So he would do the only thing he could and work with what he had learned so far: that as he tried to gain this much needed control, he had found that thinking of himself only as Kal-El kept him more focused. In the last month nothing had disturbed that focus; not until he'd seen her tears. All his hard-won control had evaporated.

As long as Clark did not face his need for Chloe, his need for human compassion, those tears would continue to be his weakness. He did not know how to make Clark see that the love he denied could be his biggest strength. Until he discovered a way to make Clark accept this reality, he must concentrate every minute to gain complete control; which meant he had to leave Clark Kent dead.

---_**To be continued**_---


	3. Chapter 3

**Responsible**

**Chapter Three**

He had sat for several hours before the first visitors to the cemetery disturbed his concentration. He focused on the engraving _**Henry James Olsen**_ and a way to stop her tears occurred to him. He disappeared and continued a search he'd started in the days after Jimmy's death and before his funeral. To find Lois. Using his super-speed to remain undetected even from all surveillance cameras, he started at the Daily Planet, remembering suddenly that the basement still contained traces of Clark Kent unless someone had completely cleared out his desk.

He sped through the office where he and Lois had worked across from each other and found that both desks had been cleared out. He scanned the top floor offices and finding them empty, sped upstairs and x-rayed everything in Tess' office, looking through everything that might give a clue if Tess had anything to do with Lois' disappearance.

He stopped at the personnel office next and waited until the two people there left on a coffee break. He x-rayed all the filing cabinets and closets in the room. In a cabinet labeled 'Lost and Found & Unclaimed Belongings' he found a box with his name on it and one with Lois Lane's name. He searched his and took out everything of a personal nature that had his name on it. He next searched Lois' and for some reason the box in which he'd stored the Legion ring Rokk had given him, had been amongst her belongings. He took out the box and even though he knew it was empty, he still found himself opening it and reacting in shock when his brain confirmed the ring was missing.

He sat down at the nearest desk and x-rayed the room again. He found Lois' personnel file with ease and getting up to retrieve it he started reading the first page before he even had the file in his hands. He leaned against the filing cabinet and read the page that described her departure.

A night watchman had witnessed her arguing and getting in a physical fight with Ms. Tess Mercer. They had both crashed to the floor. Ms. Mercer was unconscious while some strange light appeared around Ms. Lane and when he looked away for a second to get near a telephone to call for help, Ms. Lane just vanished into thin air.

The police had questioned him several times according to the report and Ms. Mercer had gotten him a few doctor appointments for stress-induced hallucinations. He had still stuck to his story because from where he was standing at the time, Ms. Lane would have to have passed by him to get out of the office. According to the notes scribbled at the bottom of the page the police report was destroyed when Ms. Mercer confirmed the argument and stated that Ms. Lane had merely given a verbal resignation after the confrontation ended. No-one believed the night watchman's story.

Except Kal-El. He remembered Rokk giving the ring to Clark and instructing him to use it to send Doomsday to the future where they were equipped to handle him. With sickening hind-sight Kal-El wished Clark had followed those instructions to the letter instead of getting creative with the most dangerous creature in the known universe. He wished also that Clark had been a little smarter than to just leave such a dangerous item in an unlocked desk drawer. But wishes and regrets would not get Lois back. He might have to seek Jor-El's help again. At the very least, he felt he could conclude that Lois was with the Legion in the year 3009. In a weak moment he wondered if this knowledge would help dry some of Chloe's tears. Would she be happy enough just knowing that Lois was almost certainly very much alive…just in another century…?

He didn't have enough strength to face her yet with the little information he had just discovered. He quickly and carefully put everything except his personal items back exactly as he'd found them and snuck out of the Daily Planet building without being seen.

He spent the rest of the day in the Fortress learning from Jor-El all that Zod could be capable of and what weaknesses to look for and use to his advantage. They discussed that Tess Mercer was still alive and somehow hiding Zod because as far as Kal-El could tell, no new man had been seen with Tess recently. Kal-El had x-rayed Tess' Metropolis apartment and the mansion in Smallville but no-one was hiding in either location. He knew Tess had unlimited resources to find a safe place to hide him. Kal-El just hoped he would discover it before Zod discovered him. He desperately needed the element of surprise on his side.

He also explained about finding out where Lois had disappeared to and as he'd suspected Jor-El could not help him bring her back. In an effort to keep positive he hoped Lois might be happy a thousand years in the future and might want to stay there… He had no way to bring her back. He did not give up on the hope that she had ended up with the Legion and that they might someday be able to bring her back. He hadn't exactly had any lengthy conversations with the young Legion members about the limitations of time-travel.

The way Rokk had worried about everything Garth had touched or started to reveal, he was sure that they must have a rule book of sorts somewhere and the need of special permission from a scientific or government committee to travel back in time the way they had done. Kal-El couldn't imagine that they'd just let even Garth come back by himself; by the time he'd spent a week in the current century heaven only knew what damage he would have done to the 31st century. He would hope the Legion had enough connections to the 'time-travel rule makers' that getting permission to return Lois to her own time would eventually be granted.

There'd be a lot of explaining to do because the odds of her believing she'd had another nightmare like the one when they were trapped in the Phantom Zone were probably about nil to none. He'd have to tell Chloe; it didn't look like he would be able to find out anymore information than he already had. But if he told her at least this much maybe she could stop worrying and be prepared to explain when Lois got back. He would not think that she wouldn't be back… He had to believe that the Legion would have programmed the ring so that Clark just had to use it to send Doomsday directly to them. If there was any other possibility, Rokk would certainly have given Clark more instructions.

As he sat listening to Jor-El, his eyes caught something in the open suitcase he'd left on the floor yesterday. An idea came to him.

He explained it to Jor-El. "When the Legion came to visit me they explained that this jacket was in some kind of museum. There's probably a good chance Lois will want proof that no tricks are being played on her and maybe they'll take her to this museum. I can pin a note to it. What is the possibility that it will show up in the 31st century?

I guess it couldn't hurt to try."

He quickly printed out the words on a piece of paper:

DEAR LOIS LANE OF THE 21ST CENTURY

PLEASE RETURN FROM 3009 TO 2009

And pinned it to the front of the jacket and placed it in a safe place in the Fortress where wind and other weather could not get to it.

He left soon after and returned to watching out for the citizens of Metropolis until the wee hours of the morning, when he found himself once more falling asleep on the wet grass next to Jimmy's grave. Next to the Fortress it had become the most peaceful place for him to concentrate on his control issues. He disappeared again at the first sound of other people visiting the cemetery.

Over the next few weeks it became a pattern. He set up equipment and various traps and weapons at the warehouse; he also gathered up an impressive storage of non-perishable food and lots of water. He finished the tunnel that allowed him to leave and enter the warehouse unseen. He purchased two old motorcycles and stored one at each end of the tunnel. He didn't think of it as only planning for the worst, but he had to be prepared in case he was hurt. He built internal steps to the ceiling and a flat place on the roof. If he was injured and couldn't fly he'd have to have a way to climb to the roof and absorb the healing power of the sun. If the planet was to stand a chance of surviving he had to prepare for all possibilities, including serious injury to himself, so he had to make sure he would not stay out of action for very long.

Each day he spent time at the Fortress to train more. The nights were spent above the streets of Metropolis, and more often than not he found sleep more easily at the cemetery than at the warehouse.

*****

On the first morning of the fourth week, he did not wake up at the first sound of mourners visiting the cemetery. He had spent the previous three nights trying to sleep at the warehouse without much success. He had purchased a more comfortable couch the second day to hopefully help with his sleeping problem; but even that had not worked well enough.

On the third night he'd given up after only two hours and spent what was left of the darkness and also for the whole of the next day and well into the next night searching every possible location where Tess could be hiding Zod. And even though sleep was not his highest priority as he could go days without rest, his disappointment at not getting any closer to finding Zod had exhausted him in a way he had not expected.

He did not quite understand why he found peace at Jimmy's grave, but he was honest enough to admit it to himself and did not hesitate to go there when he knew he desperately needed the rest. Kal-El knew that Clark was still very much a part of him no matter how much he refused to give in to any of his fears and weaknesses. Maybe keeping a watch over Jimmy's resting place had a way of easing Clark's guilt allowing his mind to rest also. He refused to analyze it any further. It was enough to know he would get some sleep.

Not only did he sleep past the first light of day and the sounds of people moving around the cemetery; he also missed her approach. He'd seen her here before; she usually visited at least twice a week as far as he had kept an eye on her; but only once had it been early enough to almost see him there. He usually disappeared long before she arrived.

Today she found him lying on the grass, his right arm across his eyes. Not sure if it was the sound of her heartbeat echoing erratically in his ears, or her footsteps that woke him, he sat up quickly, ready to super-speed away when her eyes filling with tears froze him to the spot.

She stepped closer and dropping her purse and the bouquet of flowers from her arms, she sank to her knees on the ground next to him.

"Why did you leave me after I'd told you I needed you?" she begged softly, instantly erasing every second of progress of the last two months as if they had not existed, bringing them both back to the instant before he'd walked away from her.

He dared to reach up to touch her cheek, but only because it had suddenly become impossible to not touch her.

Without thinking or trying to control what was going through his mind, Kal-El started talking. "You were right…that day…I was there at Jimmy's funeral. All I saw was the pain in your eyes. I know you saw Davis kill him; but it was my fault Davis was still alive."

Her lovely face with her sudden sad smile and tired eyes started to blur a little, but he refused to wipe away the tears as he tried to explain, "I don't know how to make anything better, Chloe. I can't fix this or anything else anymore. Because of choices I made so many people died; so many more seriously injured; you risked your life running with Davis just to keep me safe because I couldn't-wouldn't-protect you from him; because I was too self-righteous to kill him; your cousin is gone and might never be able to return, your true love is dead…"

Her pain unable to be contained poured out of her, "You are my true love, Kal-El; you always have been. In the last few weeks when I believed I would never see you again, I accepted that and stopped denying what I felt. Finding you here…I—it's such a shock—I'm afraid I might wake up and it's another dream…"

Her right hand reached up to hold the hand that caressed her cheek, and softly she continued, "You're real… I have to tell you exactly what's in my heart; so we can move on, no matter what. But, you don't have to worry; I always knew you would never be mine. Whether that will always be that way, doesn't matter. It won't change how I feel and you don't have to leave me again. I told you once before I would always be here for you no matter which side of nature or nurture won out. I want you to start believing that."

He did not show any reaction to her using his Kryptonian name. He had told her Clark Kent was dead; he was known by no other name. And though, he was not surprised by her admission; he had known it for years, he had not expected her to say it out loud. Just before her wedding when she had read that love letter she had written to him when they were both so young, he had started to tell her that he guessed he always knew, but she had interrupted and denied that she still felt the same. He had known it was a lie. Such beautiful words straight from her soul were eternal. He sat up completely and reached for her.

She let him pull her closer beside him, but stopped him with a finger-tip against his lips when he wanted to tell her she didn't have to explain anything to him, "I don't know how much free will I really had when Brainiac started taking over my mind, but I think I still had the power to make some choices of my own. Jimmy was my reality check; I didn't settle for him, I chose to let myself love him because he was easy to love and he loved me back. He was the only thing in my life that wasn't complicated. I needed that. My heart needed to let you go so that I could move on with my life."

She took a deep breath before slowly continuing, "I had to accept my place in your life because we will always need each other to keep the world safe. You can't give up on that Kal; I won't let you. Jimmy wouldn't blame you for what happened to him. He understood what you've tried to do all your life; he understood the things I had done to help you. We both believed that Davis could be saved; I shouldn't have used the Black Kryptonite on him; I should have let you send him to the Phantom Zone. But at the time I still believed that we would both regret punishing him that way."

"We weren't responsible for what he was, Kal. Evil beings created him for evil purposes only. The murders he committed were not our fault for not being able to stop him. Just like you are not responsible for Lionel killing his parents. Evil existed here long before you arrived. I think maybe that some paths are set and permanently engraved in our destiny by the choices we make. Lionel may have become your ally in the end; but he was never willing to pay for the crimes he did commit…"

"When you met Lex you saved his life…most people would just be grateful. He wasn't happy with just being alive. He had to know how and why it was possible…your hiding the truth from him is not what turned him evil. Even if you had been honest with him and trusted him from the start…he would still have wanted to control or kill you…it just took him more years to figure out how."

"I don't know if I'm making any sense to you, Kal. We can't let our mistakes and regrets rule our lives. We have to learn from them. We have to keep going. We can't stop, Kal, just because we were fooled by someone…something that wasn't real. If we lose our faith, our hope for a better future, we may as well just dig a hole here right next to Jimmy and bury ourselves. There would be no point to go on."

His eyes looked deeply into hers, the sadness a mirror of his own soul and he knew he had to tell her, "You always knew how to keep me going, Chloe. You always believed in me and the great things you think I'm meant to do. You should be collecting commissions from Jor-El." They both smiled and it pleased Kal-El that he was even able to get a chuckle out of her.

But he still had much to tell her. "There are a lot of things I still have to explain to you; what I did wrong, okay? I should have listened to Rokk and used the ring to send Doomsday into the future where they were prepared to fight him. I should have kept that ring on me and not left it in an unguarded desk … Lois would still be here. I'm sorry, so sorry that I caused you to lose a member of your family, Chloe. I can only assume that the ring was programmed for Rokk's time and that she's being taken care of by the Legion. If there's any way to send her back to this century, they'll do it."

A slow smile spread across her face, "Lois is in the future?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense, Chloe. The Daily Planet has surveillance video at all the exits; none showed her leaving the building. Tess conveniently forgot to mention that to the police; I found the tapes in her office at the Planet; so I know she watched them. It also indicates she probably didn't do anything to get rid of Lois. But she has people thinking that poor night watchman is severely depressed and was hallucinating. He actually doesn't know how lucky he is that Tess didn't kill him. She has a way of getting rid of people who get in her way."

Chloe's smile faded, "I'm just glad Lois wasn't killed by Doomsday." The smile returned, "I can just imagine the chaos she's causing for the Legion; they'll probably send her back just to get their lives back to normal."

She thought for a moment and then continued, "She'll probably learn a lot of things in the future, Kal. We'll have to be prepared for her anger that we never shared your secret with her…"

He smiled and hugged her closer before becoming serious again, "Chloe, I have to tell you one more thing. Another wrong I can't undo. Something … I won't ever ask you to forgive me; but I just want you to know I didn't do it to harm you. I thought it was the only way I could protect you from all the harm's way I've put you into. .."

"Kal, I…"

"No, please. Let me tell you, okay? Before your wedding…after you rescued Kara and me from the Phantom Zone…when you started to forget things about your life as Brainiac was filling your mind with Kryptonian code; I brought you to the Fortress because Jor-El had told me he could help. I asked him to take away any memory you had of Krypton and what I was… I thought I was giving you back your life…so you could be happy with Jimmy…so that you would be out of danger. I know now that it was wrong; I had no right to …"

"Kal, I knew what you'd done…"

"How?"

"Imra told you after you'd told the Legion there was a human being inside me and they needed to help you save me. You knew before she did…"

He reached for her shoulders looking at her in amazement as he remembered that frightening day.

_Clark had gotten to the Daily Planet office just in time to halt the downward plunge of the knife in Rokk's hand. "What are you doing?"_

_They tried to explain, "We powered him down with an electromagnetic pulse but he will be back online within minutes. So we need to…don't touch her."_

_Imra attempted to reason with Clark. "Kal, whoever your friend was, she's not there anymore."_

_He had looked around at all the other motionless people in the DP office. "Did you power them down too?"_

_Garth answered, "No, Brainiac can take credit for that."_

_Rokk continued, desperate because he had known there was not much time left. "Kal we need to shut Brainiac down and for that the host has to die."_

_But they could not succeed in swaying Clark, only bringing him to challenge them. "Does your Legion have any principles? You speak of a code…But if it had anything to do with me, rule number one would be: do not kill. Ever!"_

"_Kal-El…"_

"_If you ever believed in me…and even if you don't now, help me. There's a human being inside there. We need to help her. And together I think we can."_

_Imra had bent down and used her powers as a telepath to search Chloe's mind…_

"_Rokk, Kal's right. Chloe's there. I can hear her."_

_Clark had wasted no time in lifting Chloe into his arms and speeding to the barn on the Kent farm. They were right behind him._

_Rokk questioned Clark as he settled Chloe on a bench in the barn, "What are we doing here? We're running out of time."_

_Clark replied with a confidence he hoped would convince them to not harm Chloe. "Listen, if Brainiac reboots, I don't want him near any computer networks."_

_Rokk had asked, "What do you want us to do?"_

"_Work together, all of us. I want to try to connect with Chloe. Imra, can you do that?"_

"_I'll try."_

"_Between the two of you, I think we can neutralize Brainiac."_

_Garth was skeptical; he still hadn't been quite convinced Clark was the real Superman of the 31__st__ century legend. "An electromagnetic blast only lasts so long."_

_Clark insisted, "He's a computer. Whatever microscopic parts he's made of, they're probably metal, right?"_

"_I've never focused my powers like this before, but I can try to magnetically extract  
the nanites," Rokk was finally onboard._

_And so was Garth, surprisingly excited to be able to redeem himself from his lack of action before when he'd held the knife and yet hadn't had the will to kill Chloe, "I could short-circuit him with a static attack. Get ready for a techno exorcism."_

"_Kal, I've got her. She's asking for you." Imra reached her hand across Chloe and held onto Clark's arm._

"_Chloe? Chloe, I'm here. Chloe, we're gonna try to get rid of Brainiac; just hang on, okay?" Clark had hoped he was getting through to her._

"_Brainiac's fighting; he's coming back on line."_

"_Rokk! NOW!" Clark commanded._

_Imra and Clark held onto Chloe to keep her in place as Garth delivered the static shock and Rokk focused his energy to pull out the nanites. They were pulled out of Chloe's mouth and rolled into a silver grey ball which Rokk took into his hands._

"_Chloe? Imra, can you hear anything?" He hadn't disguised the fear in his voice._

_Finally Imra announced, "I'm getting something."_

_And slowly Chloe's eyes had opened and she'd turned towards Clark, "Chloe. Hey. Are you okay?"_

"_I'm fine. I definitely feel a whole lot dumber."_

The feeling of relief that had washed through him would stay with him forever. Smiling into Chloe's eyes, Kal-El asked, "You never said anything…?"

"I was mad at you for a long time, Kal. Remember the little incident with the green rock at my wedding?"

He grinned, understanding exactly how much power she'd actually had over him and yet hadn't used it. "I guess I deserved that… When did you stop being mad at me, Chloe?" he asked quietly.

"The day you stopped the Legion from killing me. I missed us, Kal, the way we were together. I missed being able to really talk to you. A few times I realized you missed 'us' too. Unfortunately, I was still too mad to let you off the hook. But then when you defied three super-powered Legion members from the future to save me, all anger left me. I understood you wanted to wipe my memory of you for the same reason you wanted to save me. I also forgave you that day, Kal. I was just waiting for the day you would admit to what you'd done. I knew one day you would, so I'll repeat it now, I forgive you. It's another thing you can stop feeling guilty about. And we don't have to ever mention it again, okay?"

The tears slid slowly down his cheeks as he whispered, "I like it when you call me Kal."

"It's who you are." And she closed the distance between them until their lips met.

---_**To be continued**_---


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Shared grief brought a passion to the kiss that neither one had expected and yet neither shied away from it.

He wrapped his arms around her back tightly and buried his face against her shoulder and let go of the pain; the heart-wrenching sobs shook his whole body. She pulled him closer and let her tears fall as she lowered her head onto his shoulder.

"I want to come home to you, Chloe."

He helped her to her feet and after checking that there was still water in it she replaced the flowers in the stone ground vase with the new ones she had brought. Kal walked to the trash can at the edge of the lawn with the old flowers and allowed her the time she wanted to be alone at Jimmy's grave. He hadn't meant to listen but it was not a whisper that came from her lips as she touched the top of the headstone, "Thank you, Jimmy, for keeping an eye on him."

They were both silent as they walked slowly to her car and she handed him the keys. He'd driven carefully and slowly through the streets of Metropolis until he found her apartment. She didn't even question how he knew where she lived without her mentioning the address. It did not take him long to find a parking spot. Before getting out of the car he scanned the entire block; he didn't want to risk being seen. He then opened her car door and helped her out. He held her hand tightly as they walked towards her building and he used her keys to unlock the front door. He scanned the lobby and looked through the door marked 'STAIRS' and seemed to be following the steps to her floor with his special vision. She started to reach for the button to call the elevator down when he smiled down at her and said, "Let's use the stairs."

"Kal, I live close to the top floor, the 22nd floor to be exact…that's quite a climb…" she protested mildly.

"I'll carry you…I want to show you something, okay? Don't be afraid…"

"I don't recall ever being afraid of you…" she answered quickly as she followed without further protest.

Once inside the stairwell, he lifted her up into his arms, "Put your arms around my neck and hold on tight…"

"Oh, my God, Kal…you can…" They passed the sign for the fifth floor before she could finish the astonished sentence, "…fly."

He smiled down into the beautiful sparkling eyes of the Chloe he had always loved; not a trace of sadness on her face as she laughed with sheer joy and clung more tightly to him as she dared to look down. She finally looked back up into his face, "When? How? How high can you…? How fast? Whoa! I can't believe it…"

He slowed down and just floated for a few moments around the 15th floor because he needed to absorb the happiness that spilled from her. He lowered his face to hers and kissed her. She kissed him back gently, a kiss filled with the happiness that she wanted to share. He reluctantly ended the kiss and smiled at her, "The day I left you. It happened by accident…oh, I think this is our stop…"

He set her back down on her feet on the landing of the 22nd floor and followed her as she led the way down the long hallway to her apartment. She took her keys back from him and unlocked the door. "Welcome to my humble little home," she invited him in.

He looked around the living room as she set her purse and coat down on a chair and pointed towards the couch, "Make yourself at home, I'll get some coffee started, okay?"

He smiled and waited until she came back with two over-sized mugs filled with steaming coffee before he sat down on the couch next to her. They both took a sip before facing each other, Chloe the first one to speak, "I want to know more about the flying…I still can't believe it…That was amazing, Kal."

He was overwhelmed at how good it felt to be close to her again. "When I ran away from you…when I _abandoned_ you that day… No, it's okay, Chloe; it's what I did; I can't deny it. I'm not proud of it. I just couldn't stay. By the time I got downstairs from the Watchtower, I was filled with a dangerous rage and I just ran. I ran so fast I couldn't stop and almost crashed into a truck at the end of an alley. To avoid the truck, I jumped! Chloe, I was so angry, I literally crashed into the air at such a speed I was probably ten thousand feet in the sky before I knew what was happening. The sound of an airplane engine heading towards Metropolis brought me to a sudden stop and I started falling. At some point before I fell too far, I realized I knew how to fly…it was actually second nature. I'd done it before years ago, when I wasn't exactly myself. I headed straight for the Fortress so fast I caused a sonic boom or two on the way. I spent the next month there with Jor-El."

"You finally started your training?"

"Yes…" he replied, strangely humbled by the pride in her voice when she'd asked the question. She had always admired what he was and had so often wanted him to embrace it and now seemed happy that he appeared to actually be starting this long-delayed journey.

He stood up and paced for a few moments in front of the coffee table and then realized he felt more comfortable sitting close to her and immediately sat down again. "I didn't know where else to go to deal with the helplessness and guilt and to calm the rage. There was so much wrong with me. There still is, Chloe. I haven't learned enough; it's incredible the knowledge contained in those crystals at the Fortress. But I just got a glimpse of that vast library because I first needed to know more about my purpose here. I wanted to learn how to make better decisions and not so many costly-deadly mistakes. I came back much too soon but I didn't have a choice; I had to follow Jor-El's instructions."

"When do you have to leave again?" her voice was calm, but he could hear her heart racing in fear.

"I don't know; it might not be for quite a long time," he answered honestly. "Tell me what's been happening to you, Chloe? Honestly, please don't hold anything back. Why did you sell the Watchtower?"

"I locked myself in that tower for days. I didn't eat or sleep. I just cried. And felt sorry for myself. I felt alone, and like you said, abandoned. Oliver rescued me; actually, he broke the door down because I wouldn't open it nor answer any of his phone calls. He hired a crew who spent about 24 hours straight cleaning everything up. The place looked like new and he arranged to have some of my furniture from the Talon apartment moved there." She stopped for a moment and took her turn pacing in front of the coffee table.

She continued in a calm voice as she paced back and forth, "After that what shocked me the most was I didn't feel Jimmy anywhere in it anymore. All I felt was pain and all I saw was blood, even though there wasn't a single drop left in the place. I finally visited his grave and thought about everything and had the conversation we never had while he was alive. Jimmy always suspected that he didn't own my whole heart because so much of it belonged to you. Almost all of our arguments were about you and how I was always there for you and defended everything you did."

He interrupted, "I'm sorry, Chloe…"

"Don't be; you had no control over how much I loved you; how much I fought it and tried to make it work with Jimmy. Even though I had sworn to never betray your secret, I know you never meant it to hurt my life and you would have understood if I'd told Jimmy to save our relationship. I couldn't do it though; losing your trust meant more than losing him. But that last day, after you told him the truth and he so willingly told me he now understood everything I'd done and lost…I thought the love I did have for him could be enough. I don't know if it would have been had he lived. I think he deserved so much more than I could have given him. I had to be honest or I would never have been able to leave that tower. I stayed by his grave for a long time that day and poured out all my regrets and asked him to forgive me."

She stopped pacing and Kal-El stood up, lifted her into his arms and sat back down on the couch with her in his lap, letting her cry out the last of her tears. He knew he was a month late but he knew she needed him today as much as she'd needed him the day he'd turned his back on her. He swore to himself, he'd never abandon her again.

After a while when he'd felt the heartbeat he'd been unconsciously listening to, slow down to an even rhythm he was sure she was sleeping and kept very still so as not to wake her. He was surprised when a few minutes later she continued softly talking into his chest, "I had to sell the Watchtower apartment…as much as it represented Jimmy's kindness, it was nevertheless a worse reminder of the deaths that occurred there: Davis, Jimmy and Clark. A few days after Oliver had it cleaned I contacted a realtor and put it on the market. It sold so fast I'm almost sure Oliver had something to do with it. I never asked him because he'd probably just lie about it and, anyway, I was much too grateful for his help to stop him. Especially since I knew he held me responsible for almost getting him and Jimmy killed by hiding Davis. We eventually did talk about that. We agreed that all our intentions had been for a positive outcome and none of us could have solved that danger alone. We should all have worked together. We promised each other that if we should ever be unlucky enough to face such an enemy again; there would be no more individual heroics without help from the team."

She stopped for a moment, sitting up and trying to remove herself from his lap, but Kal-El just pulled her closer, "Let me just hold you," he whispered quickly.

She didn't argue and slowly continued her story. "He called me a few days after I signed the lease on this apartment and told me the Justice League was secretly re-organizing and he wanted me back working with the team. It kept me busy. In the beginning…everyone had a tough time being around me; I cried every time someone mentioned Jimmy or Clark. One morning I just burst out and told them Clark Kent was dead and there was only Kal-El left and he might never come back. Since then they only refer to you as Kal or Boyscout when talking about you can't be avoided. Oliver also refers to you as the Lone Wolf."

"That's pretty much everything. The team has been trying to help me find Lois. Guess we'll have to tell them they can quit that search. Why did you…why did Jor-El instruct you to stop your training too soon?"

The question came so unexpectedly it took him a moment to answer, "Zod is back."

"We know," she replied immediately.

They both raised their heads and their eyes locked as Kal-El asked, "How do you know?"

"A Queen Industries satellite picked up his calling card burnt into Tess' front yard at the Luthor mansion. Not knowing where you were, I called the Senator. She's the one who told me you probably started your training. Well, actually she only hinted at it by saying she thought you'd gone on a journey up north. I went to the Farm and snuck into the barn to try to find that octagonal key to go to the Fortress and bring you back, but everything in the barn had been cleaned out."

"I had to find a new hiding place for everything after Tess used one of her meteor-infected people to pose as you and find out everything she could about me and try to get me to kill Davis. Tess stole and destroyed the crystal that had the power to open the portal to the Phantom Zone. She didn't want me to have any easy way out. For some reason she thought it her duty to force me to face what she believed was my destiny. According to Jor-El, she's the one who released Zod. It's why he stopped the training and told me to come back," he responded in way of another apology for not being there when she needed him.

"The Senator also told me she sold the farm. Are you okay with that?" she asked in a slightly worried voice.

"Yes," he answered very calmly. "It was long past time to let that go. Clark's life had been in Metropolis and hiring extra help all the time because he wasn't there often enough kept it from making any kind of profit. And I believe it was a constant reminder to Martha of the husband she had lost."

"I was worried, you know?" She looked searchingly into his eyes for a long while, not revealing how unusual it sounded for him to say "Martha" and "husband" instead of "mom" and "dad" and refer to himself in the third person, because she believed she understood his need for detachment. Finally, she continued. "Anyway, I was left with no choice but to explain everything that the team didn't already know about Krypton's worst criminal and the real cause behind Dark Thursday. So, in addition to searching for Lois, we've been using all our resources to finding Zod. We didn't know Tess was responsible for releasing him; but we have suspected that she's working with him. Unless he came back to use the still-missing Lex as a vessel again, there was no other reason to burn his symbol into her front yard."

"Since Queen Industries and Luthorcorp are still partners, Oliver has been so extra careful with all his dealings with Tess. He didn't want to reveal in any way what we suspect and he's trying to stay within her radar to find out whatever plans she's cooking up with her new illusive friend and yet not get close enough to get burned or caught. It's been a rough couple of months in the hero business."

He studied her face as though committing it to memory before he spoke again, "I leased a warehouse. Following Jor-El's instructions, I have been preparing to face Zod. Would you like to see it?"

"Yes," she smiled at him.

"I'm trying to avoid letting Zod discover that I'm back. The 'hero business' as you call it has had to be very discreet since I've been back. I'm using the warehouse to stock supplies and as a place to hide out if and when necessary. I've created a tunnel to get to it unseen."

She quickly stood up and invited, "Let's go! I have a couple of over-sized hooded sweat-shirts we could wear and we can take the subway. That's how I get to and from JL headquarters back-tracking and taking different routes as much as possible. Oliver has us all brushing up on evasive spy-school tactics. If it weren't so serious, I could say that's actually been a fun experience learning how to be aware of everything going on around you at all times."

She opened the coat closet by her front door and Kal-El saw that she had quite a few more than a 'couple' of hooded sweatshirts of all sizes, colors and styles. "Secret disguises?" he asked.

"Oliver found you by searching the entire globe using every satellite he owned or could get access to, some of which he had to hack into, and running some very sophisticated facial and body recognition programs through them. He figures he's not the only one who can get his hands on such technology and just wants us to make it a little harder to be followed to and from HQ. I didn't want to be too boring by wearing the same stuff every day."

He grinned at the smile on her face as she indicated he should pick one, "You're amazing, Chloe."

She actually blushed with happiness. Pleasant memories of previous joint clandestine investigations filled her mind. It only took a few minutes to choose the shirts and take the elevator downstairs. They exited the building through the underground garage, Chloe explaining it was closer to the nearest subway. With his arm around her shoulders they slowly walked the three blocks to the subway entrance leading no-one to think they were not more than a happy young couple out for a stroll. No passer-by would guess they were aware of everyone around them, even scanning cars that seemed to slow down for no reason. It had become second nature to both of them.

On the subway they felt lucky to find a car with no-one else in it and sat close together talking, happily for once, about their high school days, remembering the pressures of 'Torch' deadlines that helped make a caffeine addict out of Chloe.

They had to walk several blocks after getting out of the subway into a small park heavily filled with huge trees. At the thickest section of trees, Kal-El pulled her down to the ground. They sat quietly for several minutes as he scanned the surrounding area and when he knew it was safe he reached under the thick weeds and punched some numbers into a hidden keypad. Chloe barely heard a lock release and then watched as he lifted a heavy door only high enough for them to slide down into the opening. While she tried to adjust to the darkness sitting on the cold dirt ground she heard him close and secure the door.

"Right in front of where you're sitting are some makeshift steps; just sort of scoot down on them…here, give me your hands; I'll help you." Almost two dozen steps later he showed her that she could stand up. "A few more steps and we'll reach a light switch, okay?"

And as promised they reached the light switch, "Close your eyes then open them slowly; the bulbs are bare and quite bright…okay, you can open your eyes."

"Whoa, Kal, this is…how long?" she asked amazed.

"A little more than a mile. This entrance is the furthest from the warehouse; I made two others closer. Would you like to take a motorcycle to the warehouse or want me to take you along for the faster than a speeding bullet ride?"

She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Guess…"

He lifted her closer and in seconds they were at the other end, where another heavy door was locked above their heads. "You have been quite busy, haven't you, Kal?"

He only nodded as he quickly lifted open the door and still holding her in his arms flew her the short distance up to the warehouse floor. He gave her the detailed tour, first flying her to the ceiling and showing her the space he had built on the roof before letting her go again once he touched back down on the floor.

She didn't say a word until she saw the office, "My God, you've got some fancy computer set-up here. Can I check it out?"

"Nothing's on-line yet. That will be the very last step and only if necessary," he explained.

She looked into some open wooden crates, "What are those contraptions?"

"Weapons. Earth-made materials with a lot of Kryptonian technology and a protective defense system against them."

"You should let us help you…" she offered.

He was silent for a very long time. "I'm not sure it would be safe to risk all your lives…" he started to defend his strategy.

"You can't do this alone, Kal-El; and neither can we. It's not just your home, it's ours too. It belongs to all of us. We have a right, a duty to protect it with everything in all our powers. You can't take that away from us. It is not just you who will suffer if Zod succeeds; it's all of us. We must defend ourselves. Zod is not alone; he has Tess and all the power her money brings behind him. If we work together we'll be much stronger." She hadn't screamed it at him as she had wanted to; she spoke only in a slow rational voice.

He put his hands in his pockets and stared at her for endless minutes. She had not said it wasn't his battle or that it wasn't his home. She included him. As if he were one of them. He suddenly knew that if he stayed with her, one day he would think of this planet as his home without adding 'second' or 'adopted' and not feel as if he didn't belong.

"Do you think Oliver would allow me back? Would the rest of the team?" The doubtful look in his eyes did much to tell her that he seriously doubted any of them would welcome him.

Without dampening his hopes, she answered, "No time like the present to find out, right? Can I use my cell phone down here?"

"Yes."

"Don't worry; our communications are all coded." She punched a speed dial number and then typed in some letters and before hitting send, she showed him what she'd written.

"LW&IrE" He read it out loud and then asked, "What does it say?"

"Lone Wolf and I request entry," she informed him and laughed at his smile, "I didn't say it was a complicated code.".

---_**To be continued**_ ---


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

A small smile coming to his lips told her he was worried about the answer more than he wanted to let on.

It didn't take long before her phone beeped twice; she opened the responding email and smiling lifted the cell phone close to his face, "DiO" he read and his eyebrows lifted in confusion.

She laughed as she threw herself into his arms, "Door is Open. Let's go!"

He was overwhelmed with the happiness in her eyes as he gazed down into them, "I need a minute first…" he barely breathed the words loud enough for her to hear.

"What's wrong?" she asked suddenly worried.

"Nothing…everything's right…" and before she could question his sanity, he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her gently.

Her hands somehow found themselves sliding through his dark too-long curls at the back of his head as she kissed him back. When his head finally lifted away from hers, he smiled and whispered, "Thank you…" and then quickly got them back into the tunnel and after she told him the location of the Justice League headquarters, he took them out of the tunnel's first exit. From there they walked to the nearest subway and after nearly thirty minutes of changing trains and walking several blocks in between one of the subway rides, they finally arrived in front of a shopping center.

Chloe took his hand and led him inside where they took several escalators down to the underground levels and on the lowest floor snuck behind a large curtain that hid the entrance to one of the smaller empty out of business stores. The door was not locked and once inside, Chloe went to the back room behind the counter and knocked twice on the door.

The door opened and Kal-El was surprised at the huge room that was very similar to Oliver's penthouse office. Almost immediately he faced a very serious crew who all stood up at once from the various couches and chairs they had been sitting on. Aquaman. Cyborg. Black Canary. Impulse. And furthest from him, the Green Arrow. They were all dressed in full Justice League 'uniform,' looking slightly tired as though they'd just returned from a mission.

No-one said anything for many minutes. Their eyes all took in Kal-El from the top of his dark hair down his black T-shirt mostly hidden underneath the grey sweatshirt and down his black jeans to his dark black boots. Nothing could have conveyed more profoundly the change in him than this great distance from his primary colors. Oliver was the first to shorten the distance between them. He extended his hand, "Come in, Boyscout."

Slow, unsure smiles started to spread across the faces of the rest of the team as Oliver took off his mask, pulling Kal into the room. Impulse appeared to be the first to wake up from the trance they all seemed to be in. He rushed up to Kal and grabbed his other hand with both of his and welcomed him back, "Hey, amigo, we've missed you…"

Kal-El looked him right in the eye and said, "Thank you."

He then turned back to Oliver and asked, "May I speak to all of you?"

"You're still one of us, Cl…Kal, you always have been welcome. We never kicked you out. Say whatever you want."

"Chloe told me you know that Zod has escaped and that Tess Mercer is involved somehow. I believe she was the one who released him. How or why she did it is still a mystery to me. I should have paid more attention to her craziness when she tried to prove I was some sort of alien god who needed to face his destiny by confronting Doomsday. Zod is the creator of the creature we called Doomsday; I don't know if he has the power to bring him back from the grave we put him in. Tess can't possibly have a clue what kind of destruction she will be causing. What she has unleashed unto the planet."

He paused for a second and then reluctantly confessed, "I have searched everywhere for him and have come to no conclusion as to who he is using as a vessel this time or where Tess could be hiding him."

Oliver understanding that Kal was all business reached into a top drawer in his desk and volunteered a thick file folder, "We think we've narrowed it down to these six men on Tess' security detail. One or more of them is always with her," and as he pointed to two pictures on the second page in the file filled with photographs, he continued, "these two the most often." They all moved in closer and gathered around Oliver's desk.

Kal didn't have to voice the question in his eyes, Oliver volunteered the answer. "Chloe said it had taken a while for Zod to prepare Lex for the-the takeover, so we're assuming it would have to be someone that's been with her for a long time; someone who was trusted so any mysterious comings and goings by him wouldn't be questioned. I know it's just a wild guess and we have no proof. We're keeping a close eye on everyone around her."

"No, it's better than a wild guess; it's very logical. Has Tess been acting differently? Is it possible to tell if she's acting of her own free will?"

"As arrogant as ever; more so some days. As if she controlled more than just a business empire," Oliver answered.

"Zod is biding his time. Chloe explained to you how he caused the events of Dark Thursday. He no longer has the weapon he used then, but I expect him to use every source, every weapon and every meteor-infected soldier Tess makes available to him. I know his goal will be the same: to rule this planet by trying to recreate a world that is long dead and to destroy everyone on Earth who refuses to join him. He will also be out for the revenge that was denied him the last time. My Kryptonian father imprisoned him for his crimes on my birth planet. Since my father is dead, he will most likely come after me again. And now his need for revenge will be even greater because I destroyed his son."

Kal-El looked at Chloe for a long moment. Since the day he told her where he was really from he had always trusted her even when Clark had been angry with her. Oliver and the others had risked their lives searching for him; they'd been captured by Lex's crazed henchmen and hadn't hesitated walking into a trap to rescue Chloe. This team had taken care of her after he'd deserted her and she trusted each and everyone of them. To stay with her he had to be as honest with them as he was with her. He glanced back at the rest of the group.

"Any known associate or friend of Clark Kent's was in danger then and is even more so now. The guilt in failing to protect all of you made it necessary… No… It made it easier to eliminate Clark from the equation. Doomsday had no will besides the ultimate destruction of everything in his path which made him by far the most dangerous creature in the universe. Zod is more dangerous in other ways. Number one, I don't know if he can be killed. He is as powerful as I am; possibly even more powerful. He has all my abilities. But I don't know if he also has my weakness. He will be smarter this time and more patient."

Bart interrupted, "Can we sit down for a while? That crack-of-dawn mission cut into my sleep time and I haven't had a snack in several hours and I'm seriously beginning to run out of energy at this impromptu standing-room-only meeting."

Oliver took pity on him, "The fridge is stocked; bring us all something and we'll take a five-minute breather."

It took him less than two as he sped through the kitchenette in the corner of the office and filled a plate for everyone with fruits, cheeses and crackers. He even added a drink for everyone and of course, three helpings of everything for himself. He was sitting down munching on an apple as he laughed up at Kal-El's face, "Sorry, amigo…couldn't be helped."

Kal-El grinned back at him. "It's okay. Your metabolism definitely should not be allowed to suffer."

Everyone found a seat and for a while there were no other sounds in the room besides six people enjoying the always delicious food Oliver supplied them with. Even Kal-El sat close to Chloe and slowly ate an orange, the whole time watching her take healthy bites of the cheese slices on her plate. "Would you like some coffee?" he asked her after taking a quick look at the fancy coffee maker on the counter next to the refrigerator and seeing there was still plenty of coffee left in it.

She smiled up at him, "Yeah, thanks."

An overwhelming longing filled him suddenly. She was always so grateful for even the smallest things; he didn't understand how Clark could have had the strength to leave her. As he brought her back a large mug filled almost to the brim he wondered if he could find a way to shorten the training he knew he would eventually have to return to. He was deep in thought absently finishing the fruits from his plate when Cyborg spoke up, "Is there a way to send him back to that prison?"

"Right now, no. Tess destroyed the crystal that was a key of sorts, if you will, and could have been used to open the portal to the Phantom Zone. I've been studying with my father---with the artificial intelligence my father created, actually. I don't know yet if, with what crystals are left undamaged at the Fortress, I can build another 'key.'"

Oliver offered, "I have a couple of very smart research scientists working for me who know about my arrow fetish. They can be trusted to help if you think you could teach them a little of your technology. One of them is a refugee we rescued from one of Lex's 33.1 labs; he already has a little experience with alien technology from all the tests done on those phantoms by Lex."

Kal-El felt positive for the first time in weeks, "I would be most grateful to have their help. I've also been spending a lot of time on developing weapons that might weaken Zod. But I think we need to investigate all the precautions we have to defend against any attack Zod might be planning. The last time he sent out a computer virus that was meant to halt everything run electronically throughout the world. I've come up with a defense for that virus…it's ready to go online whenever it's needed. And we should make sure that all networks have as much protection as we can invent as quickly as possible. My program is just based on what he did last time. We have to figure out all the ways our systems can be invaded."

Oliver whistled, "Whoa, Kal, since when are you a computer genius?"

Kal-El glanced from him to Chloe, "I've been in training with the A.I. for the last two months and I've been an audience of one for many years before that to the best computer genius I know. I took a lot of mental notes." He smiled at Chloe.

"And he remembers everything," Chloe added.

Aquaman raised a question, "Is this Zod all about computers and destroying us that way? Or are there other things we need to defend ourselves against?"

"If he is as strong as the last time, he'll certainly start a fight. He quite enjoyed throwing me half way across the county. I'm basing a lot of what I'm planning on what happened last time on Dark Thursday but I'm not forgetting there could be other possibilities…"

"What do you mean?" Bart asked.

"He might not be using a human vessel. There are more than just phantoms in that prison. If he found a Kryptonian body in that prison to invade, he might be a lot more powerful than last time. The only advantage would be the one weakness he would share with me; a fatal weakness. I'm preparing a trap based on that weakness using parts of a cage Lionel built to trap me. And there's a third possibility if Zod had no time to prepare a vessel and just took over a human body. He might not have any powers. But he still has an intelligent military mind. He was some kind of leader of Kryptonian armies, a General. So even without powers, he would still be dangerous and we cannot underestimate him. One last thing I have to warn you about. I've been trapped in the Phantom Zone twice; during both escapes others followed me out. We could be dealing with more escapees, whether intentional or accidental wouldn't matter as they would all pose a threat. That's all the information I have for now."

"Isn't it dangerous for you to build a trap that can also prove fatal to you, Kal?" Black Canary asked as she headed for the fridge to get another soda.

"The entire planet is at risk, we face extinction. If I have to be collateral damage to stop that, I hope that all of you understand that you cannot hesitate. We would not get another opportunity to stop him," Kal-El replied in a strong voice which did not falter even when he heard Chloe's heart start to race in panic.

---_**To be continued**_ ---

a/n – Thank you to all of you who are reading … I hope you're enjoying it so far.


	6. Chapter 6

"**Responsible"**

**Chapter Six**

As their meeting continued, Kal-El told them about his preparations at the warehouse, the work at the Fortress, his continuous surveillance of all the Luthor facilities including the mansion and the main Luthorcorp offices in Metropolis. Oliver and Chloe took turns explaining and showing Kal-El everything the JL had been doing to prepare to defend the planet.

They held nothing back.

And thus the teamwork to bring down Earth's newest and greatest threat had begun; Kal-El vowed to work together with the JL to prepare for whatever Zod and Tess could bring against them.

It was early evening when Bart's lack of energy once again stopped the meeting. Only this time Oliver decided to call it a day. "I think we've accomplished enough for one day. Tomorrow is a day off. Everybody meet back here the day after and we'll start with the debriefing on this morning's mission."

Chloe quickly added, "One more important topic before we go. Kal believes he knows what happened to my cousin, Lois."

This time Kal-El and Chloe took turns explaining to the team what they didn't already know about the Legion of crime fighters from the 31st century and the ring that Clark had been given by Rokk and which most likely was the cause of Lois' disappearance. There were many questions, especially from Bart who was fascinated by the idea that time travel was really possible. Forty minutes later they finally agreed to adjourn the meeting and go home.

Chloe and Kal-El were the last to leave as Oliver started locking things up. Kal-El extended his hand to Oliver, "I hope that one day you'll forgive me for thinking I had the right to judge you or your actions. I understand the choices you make for yourself and for the team are seldom easy and that you do not make them lightly. And I know the consequences weigh heavily on you no matter how justified or how good the intentions are. I know by not trusting you, I failed you in a lot of ways. It won't happen again."

Oliver accepted the handshake, "I know we won't always agree on every action the team has to take, Kal, but I'm glad you're part of us again. Welcome back, Boyscout!"

Chloe came forward and hugged them both …

Oliver hugged her back as they headed towards the escalator, "Time to split, kids. Have a good day off and take care of each other."

Kal-El put his arm around Chloe's shoulder as she pulled the sweatshirt hoods up on both their heads, "Thanks, we will."

They had walked a few blocks when Kal-El broke the silence, "I know a nice quiet spaghetti place just around this corner. Are you hungry? Will you let me buy you dinner?"

She put her arm around his waist and replied simply, "Yes and yes, please."

They were laughing at a joke the waitress had told them when Chloe looked up from twirling her spaghetti onto the fork, "Is this…are we on a date?" she asked quietly.

His laughter stopped instantly as his eyes found hers, "Yes. I do believe I asked if I could buy you dinner and you said yes. I think that even by today's standards that still qualifies as a date, right?"

She laughed, "Do you want it to be a date?"

"Very much so, Chloe. No pressure for anything, Chloe, I know after everything that's happened we don't want to rush or force anything; we're probably not ready. But you know I'm not going anywhere; so we have all the time in the world."

A cloud seemed to pass across her eyes, "What if we don't have a lot of time left? What if Z…the General succeeds?"

He reached across the table and for a moment held her cheek in his palm, "I thought we agreed no depressing shop talk for the rest of today and all of tomorrow? Let's just enjoy our first date in years, okay?"

The cloud disappeared as she lifted the spaghetti-laden fork to her mouth.

Through the rest of the dinner and for the entire long leisurely walk back to Chloe's apartment there were no more sad moments. Kal-El absorbed every second, every step they took and every word from her smiling lips into his memory. They made small plans: museums Kal-El had never been to were discussed in detail; some plays that had been in local theatres for several seasons that they both wanted to see before they closed down; a new coffee shop near her apartment that she'd been meaning to try the new blend advertised on their window; restaurants that he wanted to take her to…

There were some very care-free moments that both would treasure and remember in years to come. Even a sudden alertness in Kal-El as he listened carefully to something going on in a nearby neighborhood did not spoil their mood. He wrapped her in his arms and after verifying that they were unseen, flew with her to the roof-top of the building they were standing in front of. Once settling them both down on a safe corner of the roof, he walked around and scanned the streets below with his x-ray vision. As he continued his search he covered his hands with his sleeves and pulled an old cell phone out of his pants pocket and called for the police and an ambulance and reported a hit-and-run with minor injuries quickly giving the car license plate number before hanging up and putting the phone back in his pocket. They waited a few minutes until the sound of sirens reached even Chloe's ears and from the way the slight frown on his face disappeared she knew he could see that help was close for the victim and the police car was already giving chase.

He lifted her back into his arms and floated back down to the ground and as they continued their walk she noticed him toss the old cell phone into the first environmentally conscious recycle can they passed next to several other garbage cans. She laughed happily, "My turn to say you're amazing, Kal. Where did you buy that phone?"

"Similar place it's now in. It's incredible what people throw out these days, don't you agree?" he returned just as happily.

"The Red-Blue Blur dumpster diving? It's a good thing I don't work at the DP anymore and don't need headlines to put food on the table," she teased him. "Eh, nobody would believe it anyway. What made you think to do that?"

"Staying under the radar became my first objective," he replied. "When I got back from the Fortress, the first call I had to make to get the police to a crime-scene, I actually borrowed the thief's cell phone after I'd tapped him on the head a little to get him to take a nap 'til the police arrived. I bought a few dozen disposable ones also over the last two months. I take one from that stash every time I go out, but I've hardly had to use any so far because I spot one or two almost every night that have been thrown out. I use them once and usually throw them into the boxes at the different shelters. I think some of them re-sell them to raise money; other places give them to people in trouble by programming them to be used as emergency phones only. That ancient one tonight was way past any use. I had to use a little heat vision just to get the antenna to connect and get that one call through."

She stepped in front of him and turned to face him, her right hand reaching up to touch his check, "You were born to be a hero, weren't you?"

Memories filled him so quickly his eyes burned; she always thought what he did was wonderful. He pulled her close to his body and lowered his mouth to hers. The tenderness in the kiss denied the sheer urgent hunger he felt. When he finally came up for air, he whispered against her lips, "I think I need a shrink."

She shook her head as if in a daze, "What? What did you just say…?" She was sure she misunderstood.

"From the moment your heartbeat and footsteps woke me up at the cemetery this morning, I've been wondering how insane Clark Kent really was to be able to walk away from you."

Her dazed eyes crinkled with sudden laughter, "I love you, too, Kal-El."

This time he didn't even try to contain the hunger.

If it weren't for the sharp claws of a very friendly tiny alley cat trying to crawl up Chloe's leg, they didn't think they would have ended that kiss any time soon. Years of longing and need were answered in each second that passed. Chloe's quick step back and sudden loud, "Ouch! You little rascal, that was my skin you're clawing through my jeans!" almost had them both lose their balance.

Kal-El was bent down in seconds, gently lifting the kitten away from her, carefully pulling the claws both out of Chloe's leg and her jeans, "It was hanging on for dear life. Are you okay? It's not bleeding a lot; but I think we should get you to a hospital."

She shook her head, "It'll be okay, Kal. Is it safe to just rush us home from here and I can take care of it there?"

He stood up after putting the kitten back on the ground and facing it towards the alley where he heard the sounds of several other kittens. As he released it he saw the mother cat peeking around the corner eyeing them suspiciously. He lifted Chloe up into his arms and sped them both back to her apartment. He refused to set her back down until they were inside behind her locked door and even then it was on his lap on her couch.

"Do you have a first aid kit?"

"Don't need it. Watch closely, Kal," she smiled at him as he pulled the pants leg up to her knee to expose the deep scratches partially hidden by the blood that was already starting to clot.

He started to reach towards the wound when her hand got there first and he could feel the warmth glowing from it as he watched in amazement as the skin started to heal. He raised his head to watch her eyes close as though she were going to pass out.

"Chloe?" he whispered in fear.

"I'm okay, Kal, it just hurts a little more than I expected," she reassured him.

He embraced her more tightly, "Tell me what I can do to help?"

"Holding me like this is working just fine; don't let go yet…it… I should be okay in a few minutes."

And finally her hand dropped to her side and she leaned closer against his chest.

"When did your power come back?" he asked gently.

"I don't think I ever lost it. It just didn't… I wasn't strong enough to heal you. I was so unhappy about it afterwards that I didn't try to test it again. Apparently your wounds need the full power of the sun as a healing bandage and my batteries can't exactly charge up enough to meet that kind of challenge. I didn't know until a few weeks ago when Black Canary got severely knifed on a mission. I was just bringing her some wet towels and bandages and as I held the towel near her arm trying to apply pressure, the heat started. Oliver was rushing in throwing off his bow and arrows in every direction trying to get to her because he was so worried. She told him to quit worrying; his 'miracle worker' was on the job. The first thing out of Oliver's mouth was, 'That's what you tried to do to Clark at Black Creek, wasn't it?' I passed out before I could answer him."

Kal-El looked at her in shock, "How long?"

"Just about five minutes. I think it's just like an energy-zapping problem; maybe I need to start eating like Impulse. I'm not planning on trying anything more difficult than a small wound now and then."

He wrapped his arms around her tightly and pulling off the sweatshirt hood that still covered her head kissed the top of her hair. He didn't say a word. He had learned his lesson about telling her what she could and could not do and what was and wasn't dangerous. She was his hero and he finally understood that she would always do whatever was necessary to protect him and others.

He was reluctant to let her go but she wanted to clean the blood off her leg, so he let her get up but volunteered to get a wet cloth for her and she immediately sat back on the couch, "Be careful, Kal, I think I could get used to being spoiled."

He returned a minute later and gently cleaned her leg, "The jeans are gonna need a bath too," he remarked.

"They'll keep until tomorrow morning's normal laundry schedule," she answered not quite ready to leave his side. "You know, Kal, I had a really nice time on our date."

"So did I Chloe."

"Do you think we'll ever be well again? I mean completely well, so we can enjoy evenings like tonight on a regular basis like other happy couples?"

He turned to face her more closely on the couch and slowly took her hands in his, "I want to, Chloe, so very much. I like us as a 'happy couple.' It sounds wonderful. I will do everything I can to get us there, but I think you know it could take some time, that we'll need…you'll need a lot of patience, I hear I'm not an easy person to understand…?"

She squeezed his hands affectionately, "Well, I seem to drag a lot of baggage into my relationships also; you know, a lot of insecurity issues and such. I'll need a lot of understanding too. You willing to apply for the job?"

He laughed, "I think my application's already been accepted and even though I'll probably be on probation for a while, I promise to do my best to make sure the job stays mine on a full time and permanent basis." She doubled over joining him in his laughter.

Finally they settled back down again and she got up, "I think we should call it a day. You want the bed or the couch? Which would be more comfortable for you?"

"I'll take the couch if you have an extra pillow?" he answered.

"Blankets?"

"Not necessary if you don't have any extras."

"Got 'em; no problem."

"Okay, thank you."

She came back into the living room her arms filled with a couple of blankets and a pillow to find Kal-El reaching for a picture frame that lay upside down on the coffee table. He turned it over. And stared at it for so long Chloe finally dropped pillow and blankets onto the couch and grabbed his arm, "Kal, are you okay?"

He first looked carefully around the living room and x-rayed the rest of the apartment looking for another picture frame like it and finding none, spoke as though confused, and not sure what he was seeing or saying. "I've been back in Metropolis for at least a month. I found you that first night…I needed to know you were okay. I scanned the apartment building until I saw you sitting here on this couch, crying so desperately hard as you held this picture against your heart. I didn't look at the picture—I assumed, - I thought, it had to be of Jimmy or of you and him. I didn't know…"

She slowly took the picture out of his hands and stood it up on the coffee table. "It was in one of the guest cameras at the wedding that survived the Doomsday wreckage in the barn. I had an enlarged print of it framed. It was one of the few happy memories I have of that day."

He smiled at her, "You know, I didn't want that dance to end, I wanted to keep you in my arms forever. I felt quite the heel when I had to let you go after Jimmy said it was his turn to dance with his wife."

He took one more look at the picture and then turned to help her straighten up the blankets and pillow on the couch. Just as she turned to leave him he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, "A goodnight kiss at the end of a perfect date. Thank you for today, Chloe."

She blushed just a little, "I hope you get a good night's sleep." And she walked into the bedroom and quietly shut the door.

He woke up several hours later to find her half sitting on the edge of the couch and half lying on his chest. He lifted her on top of him trying very hard to not wake her up and then covered them both with the two blankets. As he tried to wrap the blankets tighter around her, she stirred awake and raised her head to look up at him. There was just enough light streaming in the window from the city outside that he could see her smile sleepily and shyly at him as she whispered, "I couldn't sleep. I wanted to be close to you; is it okay?"

He moved a curl aside from her forehead and answered quietly, "Anytime Chloe."

She grinned, her eyes although tired, filled with a mischief he hadn't seen in a long time,

"Don't worry, Kal, I didn't have any plans to seduce you."

He wanted the playfulness; he realized he ached for it; Clark had been a fool!

"When we're both ready… when we're both well again, Chloe, I hope you'll have a change of plans in mind."

Her tired eyes were suddenly wide awake, "You're serious? You want us to be together?" she asked carefully, almost as though their earlier conversations hadn't already given her enough indication that it was truly what he wanted.

He had no trouble removing any doubt that still lingered, remembering very well about that baggage of insecurities she mentioned earlier, "Yes. Chloe, unless you kick me out of your life, I'm staying right here. Even if you relegate me to the couch for the rest of my life, I will never abandon you again."

She sighed softly and rested her head back on his chest, "I'm too tired to move right now and I am way too cozy; but tomorrow night I think we might be more comfortable in my queen size bed."

He folded his arms around her and pulled the blankets a little better over both of them and whispered, "Good night, Chloe."

"G'night, Kal."

---_**To be continued **_---


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

She woke up early the next morning to find herself comfortably wrapped in his arms sleeping beside him in her bed. She was afraid to open her eyes. Could a dream feel this real? Yesterday had to have happened; she couldn't possibly have dreamt all the things that were suddenly coming back to her the more her brain pushed away the drowsiness of the best sleep she'd had in months.

A quiet familiar voice explained, "The blankets kept slipping. I woke up and you were shivering. You were right; we were much more comfortable in your bed."

And he kissed her. Slowly. Exploring.

Well, if this dream was going to keep kissing her all the time…

She was not going to wake up voluntarily. She squeezed her eyes tighter and slid her arms around his neck to get closer to him. He was so warm. How could she have shivered anywhere near him?

She kissed him back. Slowly. Exploring.

And for some reason she had to breathe much too soon and their mouths separated and his whispered, "Good morning."

Before she could stop them the words slipped out, "You're real…" So much for that smart brain of hers; it seemed not to function when he was this close.

His right arm moved up from around her waist to the back of her head as he gazed down into her eyes, "I hope so, Chloe. I hope this is real." She didn't feel quite so dumb after he admitted that. They were both swimming in waters that were a little deeper than they had expected to be wading out into so quickly.

"Coffee would probably be good proof that we're awake and not dreaming," she smiled up at him, almost…but not quite wanting to retreat back into her safe little world. She reminded herself of how many times he had reassured her yesterday that he wasn't leaving; he wanted to stay. She slowly tasted his lips one more time, "Good morning to you, too." And then slipped out of his arms and headed towards the kitchen to start the coffee.

A strange peace filled him. When she was near things were simple and logical; she made sense the way she looked at the horrible things they'd been through. The guilt of his many wrong decisions seemed easier to bear. She shared them and took them on herself too. He should have learned that lesson from Martha and Jonathan; he had watched them for years share the many burdens in their lives. Being there for each other seemed to be the first and always the biggest step in everything they faced. Clark had wanted those memories dead and gone. Kal-El was just facing that he would have to start remembering them and what they had taught him.

He stretched as he heard Chloe get out the coffee mugs from the dishwasher; it sounded like she was toasting some bread or bagels, too. He didn't want to get up from her bed; even after she'd left it her smell surrounded him; a soft lavender, most likely from those soaps and shampoos he'd seen in her bathroom last night. So much about her was soft and gentle, an amazing disguise for the strong, tough soldier hidden underneath. She had suffered so much by herself and yet she had survived with her sanity intact and her heart still able to hum one of the Italian love songs they'd heard at dinner last night while she was pouring their coffee.

He had to get closer. He looked around to the corner of her bedroom where she'd tossed his bag they'd picked up at the warehouse yesterday. It took exactly four minutes to shower and get dressed and be in the kitchen in time to help her set everything up on the small round dining table near her living room couch.

"Breakfast is served," she smiled at him, "Oh, wait, I forgot, I have butter, jams, cream cheese or peanut butter; which would you like?"

"You sit, I'll get it. You want cream cheese, right?"

"Right! Thanks, Kal."

They ate in silence staring at each other over their coffee mugs. "I don't want you to be collateral damage, Kal," she suddenly said quietly as though no time had passed since he'd told the group yesterday that they should let him die if it was the only way to catch Zod.

He set his coffee mug down on the table and reached for her hands, "Chloe, I've just stepped back into the world, I haven't yet learned to live. I plan on being very careful because I don't want to be damage of any kind, collateral or otherwise, okay?"

The smile went all the way to her eyes as she whispered, "Okay."

As she showered he cleaned up the dishes and turned on the television and caught up on all the world and local news. Nothing unusual that would indicate Zod or Tess planning anything big was revealed so he finally turned the TV off again.

"Wow, you can stay anytime," Chloe came up behind him sitting on the couch and wrapped her arms around his throat, "Thanks for cleaning up."

He lightly kissed her arm as she released him so he could get up, "Would you like to do some of the things we talked about last night? Since Oliver gave us the day off?" Chloe asked him.

"A day off enjoying some of the sites of Metropolis we've never explored before sounds perfect." And he walked to her coat closet and pulled them out two different hooded sweatshirts. As he helped her on with her sweatshirt he vowed to himself that he would spend the day not worrying about anything except her happiness. Tomorrow would be soon enough to face the darkness that awaited them.

***

His intention may have been to bring her happiness that day, but it brought a reward he had forgotten. Chloe's delight alone made him happy. It always had; each smile that day reminded him how so many of her smiles through the years had warmed him. She was wonderfully generous with her hugs the whole day, and she initiated as many quick kisses as he did. It was a perfect day that ended much too soon.

At the end of the evening outside her apartment door he pulled her into his arms and teased her, "Another wonderful date should end with a goodnight kiss…"

"You're not leaving are you?" there was only a mild panic in her voice.

He felt the pleasure to his soul that she wasn't going to pretend she didn't want him with her, "I seem to remember an invitation to a certain comfortable queen sized bed?" he teased.

She laughed and then melted into the promised goodnight kiss.

They woke up early and automatically followed the same morning ritual as the day before as though they'd been waking up together for years.

Once they got to Justice League headquarters they realized right away that Oliver had not taken a day off. He'd been busy almost non-stop from the time the previous meeting had broken up.

Half a dozen computer screens were buzzing, three television screens located on a retractable shelf hanging from the ceiling in one corner of the office were reporting news from around the globe; and Oliver's concentration was deep in some charts and several stacks of reports spread out on a table. Within ten minutes of their arrival the rest of the team also showed up.

"Okay, welcome back. First, a quick debriefing; for any of you who haven't seen yesterday's Daily Planet, the success of our mission the other day made front page news." He held up the paper for them to see the headline:

"TEENAGER OUTWITS KIDNAPPERS!"

Impulse was the first to finish reading the article, "Our names aren't mentioned anywhere."

"And that's partially your fault; you were in and out of there so fast loosening his restraints enough to allow him to get them off by himself. Cyborg's success in unlocking the computerized combination by making it look like a power outage had opened the door worked brilliantly. The rest of us knocking out the guards just enough to not leave any bruises and making it look like they just fell asleep on the job was a surprising success thanks to Aquaman's planning. Watchtower's constant vigilance got us out of there just before the police arrived chasing a wild young woman right into the garage where our young victim was being held."

Black Canary laughed, "Yeah, thanks for getting me out of there so quickly, too, Impulse. Traveling at your speed was quite a rush by the way."

He smiled at her, "Always a pleasure to be of help."

"Bottom line, people," the Green Arrow's voice got all their undivided attention, "Nice team work. Congratulations!"

After a long pause, he continued, "Now unless anyone has any questions about that mission, I think we can move on to our next little project. I have a few ideas to share. We need three basic steps to cover. First should be the defense we'll have to build in our computer and electronic systems to fight off any attack. Maybe Boyscout and Watchtower would like to tackle that first since you've already got one major virus program done? Second we need constant surveillance of Tess and her people. Impulse will continue searching through all of Tess' facilities that we can find that she conveniently leaves off her stock reports; of which I located one more suspicious building yesterday. Aquaman and Black Canary have been keeping an eye for a few weeks now on the buildings that are known to belong to Luthorcorp so if you can continue that, we've added a little help with the additional monitoring systems Cyborg and I have been getting into. So far we remain undetected. And third we need attack plans with lists of weapons and whatever muscle we think will help. I'm sure if it comes down to a physical battle, we'll be facing more than just Zod. I'd also like to know if taking my scientists to the Fortress is a possibility…?"

Kal-El looked around the room and nodded back at Oliver, "It would probably be a good idea for all of us to take a field trip there. It's time I showed all of you where I really come from and who I really am; who you risked your lives for."

"Do I need to get the jet ready?"

"No, just transportation to Smallville and bring warm clothes. I think some of you have been in the area before searching for me; it can get rather cold."

"Is tomorrow good for everyone?"

And so the work to protect Earth truly began.

Kal-El was the busiest of all as though he wanted to show that he was worthy of all of their help in defeating an enemy of his birth planet. He remembered Chloe's words from long ago that Clark had some amazing friends. He now thought it almost every day as he watched them and worked with them. He felt a sense of pride as they were all quite impressed with the excursion to the Fortress that had unfortunately been postponed for more than a week due to a nasty crime wave in Metropolis that took a little more time to clean up than they had planned for especially since everything they did to help the police had to remain undetected or anonymous. Stealth was not always about speed.

The trip to and from the Kawachi caves was an extra thrill they had not expected. Even Impulse couldn't resist remarking, "Okay, Stretch, I'll give you that one: you beat my land speed record by quite a bit getting us here."

---_**To be continued**_ ---


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Besides using another underground tunnel whose entrance had some unusual security to get into the caves, other changes had been added since Chloe last went to the Fortress. And when they first came to a stop after the "_whoosh"_ through the portal from the Kawachi caves, Chloe couldn't stop herself from remarking, "This is new too…" as they were enclosed in an elevator-sized box. Kal-El put his hand against what appeared an unmarked area of the wall and a section retreated to allow him to reach in and put his hand on a metal pad of some sort which opened the door and showed them the vastness of his new Fortress of Solitude.

Kal-El explained, "Better security. This rebuilt Fortress is actually hidden underground quite a distance away from the one Lex destroyed. It is not detectible by any Earth-known satellite systems. I cannot risk it being discovered and destroyed again by an enemy. It has the only portal for Kara to find her way back to Earth. Oliver, check your guidance instrument; it will not indicate a new location; it will appear as though we did not leave Smallville."

Late that night when they were back home in Chloe's apartment he tells her, "I have a confession to make…"

He had become so serious in the last few days; there was a tension surrounding him when they worked with the team. She knew it was mostly because he had as yet no way of knowing how devastating the confrontation with Zod might be; and he worried he'd missed important details; he wished he knew more. And he still could not think of Clark and Kal as one entity; he still separated the two…even as some of his behavior gave hints that the conflict was not tearing him apart as horribly as the moment she'd found him at Jimmy's grave.

"I did not tell the team that there is one other way past my security besides Kara. I'll leave it up to you to tell them if anything happens to me."

"I can get in…" she assumed.

He looked right into her eyes, the guilt of the burden he thought he was putting on her building, "Yes. I can undo the codes if you'd rather not…if you don't want the responsibility…"

Her first instinct was to yell at him, but the look in his eyes made her take pity because she actually understood how much her answer weighed on him. "Who talked you into letting us help you save the world for all of us?"

"I do not doubt for even one second your dedication, Chloe. You gave your life to save me when we invaded Lex's mind to find Kara and Lois. Don't think that I have ever taken for granted the love that it took for you to not let Lex die. We both know he will never pay for all the crimes he committed against you and so many others; and you could have easily let his tyranny end that day. No-one would have faulted you that decision; least of all me. I'm certain you knew at the time that with all of Lionel's resources Kara and Lois could eventually have been found. You _**chose**_ to save me. I did this without asking you first; without giving you a choice. I'm offering it to you now."

Her eyes filled with tears, but she refused to let them fall, "How could you have understood my love for you so well and still left me?"

He did not turn away from her pain even though it would have been the easiest thing in the world for him to just leave, at a speed faster than any he'd ever attempted, faster than when he'd run from her the last time. But he couldn't run. Leaving would break him more easily than staying and absorbing her pain as his own. He knew he would have to accept her anger, her disappointment and any kind of retribution she wished to throw at him if she was to ever fully trust him again. And he wanted, needed her trust even more than her heart.

"I was a coward. Stupid. Arrogant. Selfish. In denial. You decide, because I don't know; I have no excuse. I believe you are not the only one in this relationship with a suitcase full of insecurities weighing down emotional progress. I have always thought my secrets were a burden no-one else should have to suffer. I have never felt worthy of the unconditional love that you so freely give to me. I ran from it from the very first day. I followed an illusion to be normal with Lana; an illusion she proved not to want in the end; we both always wanted to be something else, never accepting who we really were. I blamed myself for that also. But she has assured me she wants the life she now has. She is happy and refuses to allow me to help her find a way to rid her of that power suit from Lex's Prometheus Project. That led me to one more relationship mistake when I let Jor-El wipe your memories. I had started to think Lois could fill the sudden enormous void of losing you. I owe her my regrets for that selfishness. I hope to be able to tell her one day."

He stopped for only a moment to try to explain it more clearly. "I have never been honest in any relationship, Chloe, because I could not be honest with how I felt about you; how I could not give you up. It broke me to see how holding onto you; burdening you with my life made me responsible for destroying yours. Running was easier than watching the consequence of my actions."

She let the tears fall and his heart and mind froze. But before he gave in to the temptation to escape that horrific pain, he noticed that small flood pour across lips attempting a smile, "I think there's hope for you, Kal…"

He hadn't noticed that his heart had stopped beating until it suddenly started pounding too fast in his ears; he was still alive and his voice shook as he dared to ask, "How can you tell?"

"You didn't call 'Clark' a coward. Maybe it doesn't mean much yet, but it might be a first step to getting 'well' again."

He was quiet a very long time. She could see by the seemingly lost look in those hypnotic Kryptonian blue eyes that he was working towards a solution to a puzzle he had previously not seen.

The crystal he had shown them at the Fortress today had been a brief glimpse into Krypton's demise; a journal of the arguments and disbelief of learned men and women who could not understand how so great an evil had been amongst them. An evil that had misled them to not believe how desperate their situation really was; and therefore not giving them enough time to save their people from their doomed planet.

Kal-El had explained to them that Kryptonians had been to Earth before, including his father; which is why he had been sent to Earth. Because of the many similarities between the Earth and Kryptonian races, his father knew he would have a chance to survive amongst the human race. As best he could he explained how Earth's yellow sun gave him the energy for his many powers and that his father had mapped out his destiny to use those powers to help the people of Earth avoid a fate similar to Krypton's.

The rest of the day had been spent extracting programming data from yet another crystal with Kal-El translating while Chloe, Oliver and his two scientists entered information into the laptops they had been asked to bring along. The rest of the team was being educated by what appeared to be a futuristic video of Kryptonian weaponry and how to defend against it. Kal-El told them he was not sure if General Zod had access to any technology that could re-create such weapons but it would be wiser to assume the worst and be prepared.

It had been a long and exhausting day.

Chloe started to feel its effects and she was about to sit down when Kal-El disappeared before her eyes. The thought that he was leaving her again didn't have time to register in her mind before she noticed her fridge was open and utensils and dishes were clattering in her kitchen. Not a minute later, Kal-El was pulling out a chair by her dining table with one hand while the other was setting down a plate filled with a couple of cheese and tomato sandwiches and carrot and celery sticks on the side. She sat down automatically as he returned to the kitchen to start her coffee maker.

She took a bite of one of the sandwiches as he sat down across from her. "Coffee will be ready soon. I know it's been a rough day, but are you too tired for a return trip to the Fortress?"

She shook her head as her mouth was too full to even mumble the one two-letter word; she was devouring the sandwich as her stomach had just notified her brain that lunch had not been served in the Fortress. They had all been too busy trying to keep up with what Kal-El was teaching them to pay attention to any hunger pangs; not that anyone had even thought to bring along any kind of nourishment in the first place.

"Good. I want to show you some things…" He absently grabbed the second sandwich and ate until her coffee was done. He filled two mugs and sat down again, both quiet until the plate and mugs were empty.

In the elevator to the lobby he pulled her close and whispered in her ear, "Want to fly to Smallville?"

He was so close and even though it had only been this morning that he'd kissed her awake, that had been so long ago and she missed his touch. She gave her answer in a searing kiss which he did not resist. "Do you even know what power you have over me?" he murmured as he kissed her back.

She felt a lightness she had never known before, at least not in a very long time, and in the days that would follow she would remember that moment as the unhooking of the suitcase of doubts she'd had chained to her heart for so many years.

---_**To be continued **_---


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

They walked for several blocks and then after carefully looking around, Kal-El lifted her into his arms and flew them to the top of the building they had stopped in front of. On the rooftop he again scanned the sky and all sides of the building. "What are you looking for exactly?" Chloe asked.

"Satellites, radar, cameras. I've learned how to look for all kinds of detection devices. I'm not sure what is keeping Zod from starting his mission to conquer, but whatever his reasons I don't want to take anything for granted. Aside from the symbol at the Luthor mansion I have seen nothing of his existence on Earth yet. He might be getting used to whatever being he had to take over. Maybe he's learning. I don't know but I'm not willing to take any unnecessary risks. Ready?"

She linked her arms around his neck, "Yes."

He soared above the clouds and then as slowly as he dared flew them to Smallville watching her face almost the whole time. She was speechless, amazement shining from her eyes. He smiled as he finally set them down close to the new entrance to the Kawachi caves. "Do you remember the location for the 'key' to open the cave?"

She reached out her hand and touched the side of the small hill. The section around her hand retreated revealing the metal pad on which she placed her hand and the wall moved aside to let them in. She smiled at him as they walked inside; the 'door' closing behind them. "Do you have the octagonal key?" she asked him, for the first time feeling no anxiety at all or fear of any kind to be heading to the Fortress.

"You won't need it; it actually won't work anymore. Put your hand next to the opening for the key."

And quickly they were back at the new security entrance for the Fortress where she followed the same procedure as to the entrance of the caves. As the door opened he answered the question in her eyes, "I reprogrammed a few things while we were here today. You once told me to be careful where I left that key. And I remembered what you had said about not being able to find me because the key was no longer in the barn. The Fortress is now also a refuge you can come to anytime you need or want to. You will never be in danger here, not from Jor-El or even from Zod. Once you are inside you will be able to have almost complete control over who enters. Only Kara or I can override your commands."

"Whoa…"

As she appeared to be silently trying to absorb this new responsibility, he knew by that one exclamation that did leave her lips that she would not shy away from it.

He put his sweatshirt down for her to sit on across from the console of crystals and pulling one out turned to her. "This is the first crystal that started speaking to me when I first got here two months ago to start my training. From it I learned many of the same things the AI has been telling me all along; but differently. And today I finally understood it in a way I had never imagined."

He sat down next to her holding the crystal in his hands. "It's my father's actual voice that spoke on that, unlike the digitized version of the AI. He must have recorded it just before he sent me here. He told me my true name and that I was the only survivor of my planet. He explained that I wasn't human even though I'd been raised by them. He explained about the powers I would have here and that I should use them wisely. He believed that the people here only needed the light to show them the way to fulfill their destiny to become a great people. He believed in their goodness. I guess he got that impression from my Kent grandparents. He sent me here to be the light."

He paused for a minute, turning the crystal over and over in his hands, as though looking for help in continuing. "I'm not the light, Chloe," he raised his eyes to hers. "These crystals are…sort of. I watched everyone today; saw how hungrily they absorbed the knowledge I was feeding them. Jor-El wants me to finish training after we've defeated Zod. I don't want to leave you for however long that might take. And I've accepted that my powers can be used to continue the work with the Justice League; crime and natural disasters are not going to stop anytime soon. So that would be another reason to not be gone for any length of time. I've been trying to find a workable solution to this… situation. Tonight I think I solved it. I won't train alone."

"You mean like we did today; bring others here for lessons?"

"Not exactly. Unless absolutely necessary, there will be no more trips to the Fortress for anyone outside the Justice League. I don't want to risk its safety; I want it to remain a well-guarded refuge from disaster and any other danger. A lot of the crystals are merely sophisticated portable computers that can be taken from the Fortress, like laptops except with immeasurable gigabytes of memory. Once we've defeated Zod, I would like to start with you, Oliver's scientists and anyone in the JL who'd like to join me and teach everyone more than just the virus and weapons programs."

"I can learn and translate for everyone else. According to Jor-El, these crystals contain the accumulated knowledge of all the known galaxies of his time. I realized today what an honor it is to be the keeper of this knowledge; but it is not mine alone. It belongs to everyone. Maybe someday soon my existence on Earth can be made known to everyone. In a better way than how it happened with Linda Lake that forced me to go back in time to undo the damage. Hopefully people will accept me like you and the rest of the team have. Like Jonathan and Martha, my parents did. Until then I would at least like to start passing this on to the few people who already know about me."

Chloe leaned against him and took the crystal from his hands, "Is it password protected?"

He laughed, "Looking for the ultimate hacking challenge? Right now, not even Tess' computer guys can access any of it. It's Cyborg and even Brainiac proof. Since the Fortress was rebuilt only my voice or touch can activate it. I'm certain, Oliver would be willing to help me find and build a secure location to set up a classroom of sorts; what do you think?"

"I think I'm glad you don't want to leave us," she said softly.

"I don't want to leave _**you**_, Chloe," he clarified.

With shaking hands she set the crystal down on the floor next to her and turned into his arms. "I don't want you to leave me either," she spoke clearly before their lips met and the Fortress with its crystals of endless knowledge, the world and all its problems were forgotten.

When she needed air he let her breathe by taking his time trailing kisses across her eyes and slowly down her cheeks to her throat. His heart was thrilling out of control when her mouth sought his again with a desperation reminding him of her farewell kiss on Dark Thursday. Her hand in his hair finally pulled his head away from her, "You know I have this very comfortable queen size bed back in Metropolis…"

His eyes caught fire and he had to close them for a second to control it, "Are you trying to seduce me?"

"Yes," no hesitation in her voice, only hunger.

"Are you sure, Chloe? I want no regrets tomorrow, no denials, no running away…?" he asked trying hard to control the need in his voice.

"Don't worry, Boyscout, you won't regret a thing. And running will be the last thing on your mind…" she smiled at him, her beautiful green eyes filled only with longing.

"The Fortress has a bedroom…with a bed big enough for both of us to get lost in…" he volunteered.

"The only thing I want to be lost in is you, Kal," she replied with a soft voice that started his eyes to heat again.

He stood up and lifted her into his arms carrying her to a corner of the Fortress where a hidden door opened on his command to reveal a fair-sized room with a large hammock like bed right in the middle of it. Once inside she slid to the floor, melted into his arms and his mouth descended to hers as if in slow motion. He kissed her gently, one arm around her waist holding her close, the other hand lost in her short golden hair.

For the next several hours the world disappeared as they slowly and very thoroughly fulfilled every longing they'd both had for all the years since they'd met.

When she later lay smiling softly in his arms, facing him, her eyes half closed, he spoke for the first time since revealing that the Fortress had a bedroom.

"I didn't lie to you that day, you know, years ago at Lex and Lana's engagement party. I've thought about us …like this …for a very long time. But I didn't think I could keep you with me… And I couldn't, didn't want to lose you. I didn't want to risk it. You've always meant too much to me."

"You won't lose me Kal-El. I don't want to be anywhere else," she reassured him.

"When I left you, I thought that my humanity was to blame for all the mistakes I'd made; that emotions were dangerous and only served to cloud rational judgment. I don't really know why I got it into my head that Kryptonians were an emotionless race. Maybe because Jor-El sent a computer to try to teach me the Kryptonian ways and it was an easy excuse to justify denying my earthly nurturing."

"When I rescued Kara from that domestic security group where they had her trapped in an updated version of the Summerholt memory chamber, I got a glimpse of her memories of my mother. And later I got to meet her, a DNA replicate of her anyway; and learned of her love for me and my father. For all my perfect memory I guess I chose to forget that my natural race was also an emotional lot. They were a proud race with a rich history and a great love of family. There was good and evil among them just like on this planet."

She rose slightly from the pillow and gently forced him onto his back and lovingly started kissing his face, "Don't think about it anymore, Kal. Just think about us and right now."

It was a request he gladly obeyed.

And thus began a new closeness they just accepted without further words to question it. An obsession they could not live without anymore; an unspoken agreement and commitment that completed both of them. Every spare moment they were not working with the JL, or training, they spent close together.

The nights he spent watching out for Metropolis, and not in her bed holding her so close as if his life depended on it; she did not sleep. He had become an addiction, a drug that her entire being could no longer survive without. At first, part of the passion had been driven by the sadness of their shared grief; but slowly without either being aware of the change in their silent explorations of each other, the passion developed a new sweetness, a tenderness that slowly filled her heart with a happiness she had never known before.

He never said he loved her; but his every touch communicated it loud and clear. His eyes were filled with it each time he reached for her. She gave to him as much as she took; he did not take her love for him for granted; he was grateful for every smile, every kiss, and every touch. He was not shy with her once he realized she was his; they denied each other nothing. Words seemed unnecessary although he never hesitated to tell her how much he missed her when he'd had to spend a night away from her; although even if he'd never said a word the desperation in his passion conveyed it just the same.

Even though they did not go out of their way to display any affection around the group, everyone saw the difference in their relationship. Kal-El had developed a calm, respectful attitude with the team, working harder than any of them; spoke little more than necessary and joked seldom. Chloe didn't seem to be an exception to this behavior unless he was caught watching her; a fire amidst a contradictory tenderness in his eyes that he seemed unable to disguise. And Chloe was caught smiling a lot more and the regretful sadness in her eyes only showed when Jimmy's name was occasionally brought up.

---_**To be continued**_ ---

Feedback would be nice; let me know what you think…

Thank you.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Another month slipped by and then one day Chloe came back to the apartment after running some grocery errands to find the place filled with flowers, on every available space was a vase of yellow daisies or red roses. He'd brought her daisies before since he'd moved in with her; often, as a matter of fact, telling her with the first bouquet he'd brought her that the sunny yellow flowers always made him think of her bright smile. But he'd never brought roses before. She set the bag full of groceries onto the kitchen counter, and dropped her coat, purse and keys on the floor when she was suddenly swept up into Kal-El's arms. He smiled down at the confused look in her eyes and then gently kissed her.

She couldn't have melted any faster had she been butter in the hot sun. "Did I forget a birthday? Or do we have an anniversary of some sort?"

He slowly shook his head, "No. I need to tell you something… But don't be angry."

That's when she noticed the eyes, "You're on Red Kryptonite, aren't you?" she asked, suddenly unsure what it meant. How had he gotten a hold of it in the first place? Who had done this to him?

"Yes," he replied calmly, his arms pulling her tighter, his lips raining teasing kisses along her cheeks and chin.

"How? Why?" she asked, trying not to worry.

He held up his right hand and she saw a familiar high school ring, "I thought those were all collected and destroyed."

"Collected, yes; destroyed, no. That jeweler had a lot of money invested in those rings and he lost a lot when he had to replace the stones with actual rubies. He wasn't about to lose a chance at making up for the loss. He still discreetly sells them at his Metropolis location. I bought one."

"Why? Why risk this? It was careless and dangerous, Kal-El!" the worry in her voice was getting more pronounced.

"No, Chloe, it was necessary. I wanted you to know that even the daredevil in me, the Kal-El without a conscience, without inhibitions wants you too; and would never hurt you again. You had to learn this so if it's ever used against me you know you can still trust me. My mother, Martha, once told me that the Red-K doesn't change who I am; it just strips away my inhibitions. I don't shy away from what I really feel."

She had no doubts as she asked it and yet she held her breath and her heart seemed to stop as she looked into his glazed eyes and waited for the answer, "What do you really feel, Kal?"

His hands came up from around her back and framed her face, his thumbs gently tracing her lips, "Don't you know?"

With her voice barely above a whisper, "Tell me," she begged against his lips, still not breathing.

"I love you, Chloe. I think I always have."

The breath she let go of was lost in his mouth as he devoured her like a starving man given his first morsel of food in years. His arms embraced her again and through her tears she barely registered that he'd lifted her up and carried her to the queen sized bed she always said was so very comfortable. In all that comfort she learned just how very much one untamed, uninhibited wild Kal-El belonged only to her.

The next morning began a rare weekend off and she awoke to it with a smiling, fully dressed Kal-El bringing her fresh coffee and bagels in bed. Once he set the cup and plate on the nightstand next to the bed, he showed her both hands were bare of any rings and then kissed her.

"I want to take you to the Fortress," he told her as she sat up and started sipping her coffee.

She just smiled and replied, "Okay."

He was in no hurry; letting her take her time to dress, eat her breakfast, read the newspaper and enjoy a second mug of coffee. They took a train to Smallville because it was too risky to fly in the daytime and he didn't want to bring her car because they would not be back until very late and he would fly them back home.

On the train ride they acted just as what they were, a young couple very much in love ignoring the rest of the world. And yet as their training was second nature, they were constantly aware of everything around them, a necessary caution they no longer controlled.

Once the last security door to the Fortress opened, he let Chloe in ahead of him and she was overwhelmed with a sight similar to what had greeted her in her apartment yesterday; flowers everywhere!

"Something else you need to tell me, Kal?" she asked sweetly.

She wasn't scared or worried; his smile, his gentleness and kindness this morning, the flowers…they all were indicators of good news; but indicators could be wrong. "Okay, go for it; I'm all ears…" she said carefully.

"Not too long ago I told you I didn't have a home. That's no longer true. You are my home, Chloe. I was a very lost and confused soul that day. But you found me, made a place for me in your heart and healed everything that was broken inside of me. I believe you know how much I love you. You have always been there for me; you have never doubted me. You are my best friend, my wonderful lover, my home and my only reason for living."

He reached into his right pants pocket and pulled out a small jeweler's box and carefully folded it into her hands as he got down on his knees and covering both her hands with his told her, "I don't ever want to leave you. I want you for my wife. I would be very happy if you accepted me as your husband. Will you marry me, Chloe?"

She slid to her knees, tears filling her eyes, "I love you, Kal. I've always loved you."

He kissed her lips softly, "I know, Chloe. Your love is what's kept me going all these years. I didn't know that until I walked away from you that day. From the moment I'd told you good-bye…I missed you. I don't want to live without you anymore. Stay with me; marry me. I promise to love you for the rest of my life…with all my heart."

Through her tears, he saw a smile start to spread; a smile that had always had the power to warm his heart, her eyes sparkled as she softly asked, "Who exactly am I marrying?"

His reaction was shock at first; he'd known she would say yes, but now he realized that he hadn't quite believed it and the joy in his eyes revealed first his realization that this meant yes, she'd marry him. The smile that crossed his lips turned to a slightly evil grin, as only Kal-El could grin when he knew he had won, but it was also a grin of pure happiness and pleasure.

But his voice was calm and serious.

"All of me..."

"...I will marry you as Clark Kent, adopted and much loved son of Jonathan and Martha Kent of the planet Earth, born Kal-El, the much honored son of Jor-El and Lara-El of the lost planet Krypton. I come to you, not completely whole yet, but with a heart free of doubt and filled only with love for you."

She smiled at him as they both were still on their knees and kissed him gently on the lips. She then spent a long moment looking around at all the beautiful red roses and yellow daisies. A mischievous sparkle brightened her eyes. "Are you asking me because you feel guilty about all that lovely wild sex we had last night?" she asked in a snarky voice he hadn't heard in quite some time.

He wasn't angry or disappointed that she asked. He knew she had plenty of reasons to doubt him; but he knew the question wasn't exactly voiced because of any doubt; in the last few weeks he'd more than convinced her he had interest in no-one but her; and he recognized the laughter in her eyes.

His answer was, however, very sincere, "No, the only guilt I could possibly ever feel about making love with you is that we didn't do it sooner. I feel no guilt for making love to you, Chloe."

It was her undoing; if there had been any doubt left in her heart, the loving look from his eyes as he'd said those words completely evaporated it. She said only one thing before she possessively hugged him close, showing him how very much she wanted him, "You're mine now and I'm never letting you go again, Kal, even if I have to find some green Kryptonite chains."

"I don't want to go anywhere, Chloe; you won't need any chains to tie me to you."

She laughed out loud and hugged him tighter, "So when do you want to get married?"

His eyebrows raised high onto his forehead as though he was deep in contemplation about the date, "Today?"

She was about to reply, when a sudden noise instantly raised them to their feet.

"I got your message, Superman!"

--- _**To be continued**_ ---


	11. Chapter 11

This chapter will bring to an end my personal view of Season Nine. I hope all of you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. A special thank you for all the wonderful feedback.

**Chapter Eleven**

"So, little cuz, you were maybe planning on getting married without inviting me?"

Chloe almost tackled her with her exuberant embrace, "Oh, my God! Kal was right. You're alive!!!" she practically screamed the greetings.

Lois looked at a stunned Kal-El over Chloe's shoulder, "Cat got your tongue, Smallville?"

Kal-El had a slightly worried grin, very happy to see her, especially for Chloe's sake; and yet, "So much for my airtight high-tech security measures," he mumbled, quite puzzled.

From behind her, three other people emerged and Rokk's voice apologized, "Sorry, Kal, it was determined to be the safest place to return her to this century. And there is no need to doubt the safety of the Fortress; your security has not been breached in a thousand years; you…your descendents granted us access to return Miss Lane."

Lois smiled, "Yeah, these three nice young folks from the next millennium wanted to come along. In their time, you two fill up quite a LOT of celebrity disk space in their history lessons. We brought along what we hope is a not-too-inappropriate wedding gift: The power to destroy Zod and Doomsday by sending them to the future, which I understand is what you were supposed to do last time! Superman! These kids have been quite busy building and creating a prison that will be able to hold them both. Lex and Tess, of course, I was hoping they'd see it my way by picking them up and dropping them off in some other century on a barely habitable planet in a galaxy far away. But, I guess I can't have everything."

Rokk gave a curious look towards Garth and then faced Kal-El, "We bring you this option to capture Zod. If you are prepared, the cost to human life will be avoided. Your touch and command will be the only power to open the portal, there will be no more accidental travels through time." He gave a meaningful glance towards Lois.

Garth quickly stepped behind a laughing Imra, "Hey, I tried to stop her looking through the disks; she's very fast…I left her alone for maybe a minute…"

"Amazing stuff…I never thought history could be quite so interesting, you know?" Lois moved a little back within Chloe's embrace to get a good look at her. "I read about Jimmy; I'm sorry. You okay, cuz?"

Chloe smiled and first looked over her shoulder to make sure Kal-El heard too, "Yes."

Lois looked at both of them, "You two have a lot of explaining to do, you know? Secret hero crap, living for centuries, healing people, aliens, flying; did I miss anything Garth?" Garth merely let out a very long moan, he would certainly be kicked out of the Legion, if Rokk even deemed him worthy of going back to their time; he could be stuck living out his life in Ancient foul-aired Metropolis.

"Living for centuries…?" came out of both Chloe and Kal-El's mouths at the same time as if it was the only thing of Lois' tirade that they'd heard.

A string of curses left Rokk's normally polite lips, but the damage had been done and he settled down enough to explain. "I think you've suspected for some time, Kal-El, the possibility of you living for many generations with the endless life-giving energy the yellow sun empowers you with. And maybe you can both remember why a certain Doctor Knox wanted Chloe's heart to give his beloved eternal life."

Rokk gave Lois a very stern look and even she got the hint of what should remain between them. Although he hadn't been told about all these other disks Lois had viewed, he had discovered that Garth had shown her a forbidden disk of another history where Clark and Lois had become a couple some years after Brainiac had caused Chloe's death. Rokk had been forced to give her the details of how the Legion helping Clark save Chloe changed that particular history. Their new history had now been filled with a library full of disk space of a Kal-El, Clark's birth name, and Chloe Sullivan, a name they had previously not known when they had first arrived in the 21st century to help Clark.

As soon as Rokk had learned what Lois had seen, he'd asked her if she ever wanted to return to her own time or if she'd rather stay in the 31st century. Other than the one outing to a history museum to convince her that she had been transported into a future century, she had literally been a prisoner at the Legion's headquarters, restricted from seeing any outside information including news of current events. Garth had been the first to notice the note on Kal's jacket in the display case at the museum; it had actually convinced Lois more than any of their explanations as to where she really was. Her eyes had glazed over but she had too much courage to let the tears fall, "I'd like very much to go home."

Rokk had told her he would work on finding a way to return her to her own time; and then, fearing what damage could be caused by so much knowledge of the future, immediately took further measures to restrict her access to any other historical information after that. He had not known about the other disks that she had already viewed until now.

Imra came up to Chloe, "We can't stay much longer. We of the Legion bring you a special wedding present. I apologize for accidentally extracting information about your mother the last time we were here, but your worry for her was very clear in your mind. In our time, there is a cure for her ailment and our leaders have allowed us to bring it to you so that she may be at your wedding as I know you are wishing for."

She handed a suddenly tearful Chloe a small box and then turned to Kal-El. "We of the Legion are honored once more to be of help to you. Be well, all of you."

Rokk took a look at Lois and knew he could not blame her for all that she had wanted to know when she'd found herself in a fancy cage in another century; it had taken a lot of work to prove to her where she'd ended up. It hadn't been her fault that they could not allow her to obtain more information once she had decided she wanted to return to her own time. And even though she'd had illegal access to some historical events, it seemed unfair to him that she had only seen future happiness for others, but none for herself. He felt it was owed to her, in spite of the worries she had given him. He walked up to her to say good-bye and whispered in her ear, "You will find much happiness in your life here with your career and with a love who will have no 'hero complex;' who will see you first and only; you will be second to nothing and no-one."

He kissed her on the cheek, "It has been interesting, Miss Lane," and then he grabbed Garth gently by the arm, "Give Kal-El what we have brought and we will go home and discuss Legion rules and discipline."

And just before they turned together for their exit, Rokk looked at Kal-El and repeated a familiar warning, "Be careful in the days ahead, Kal-El."

Before they could react, the three were gone and Kal-El and Chloe were left behind with a stunned Lois.

Kal-El took Chloe in his arms carefully setting down both special delivery boxes from the 31st century. "Are you okay?"

She buried her face in his chest and let the tears fall as Lois turned back to face them both. Kal-El finally broke the silence, "Superman?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "Hard to believe, huh? If you don't mind I'm sticking with Smallville for a while, okay?"

Chloe's tears slowly stopped and when she turned to look at Lois, it was to find her looking all around the Fortress, "Tell me we're in some crazy cave in 2009 and not still in the next millennium, please. And while you're thinking up a believable explanation of where exactly we are, tell me if this joint has a heater?"

Chloe smiled, "So the history lessons didn't include anything about the Fortress of Solitude?"

"Solitude, huh? Perfect description; and nope, not in the history disks I snuck a peak at. That Garth didn't exactly leave me a lot of snoop…uh…discovery time, you know," she smiled at them.

Chloe started laughing and was quickly joined by the other two, "Oh, Lois, we missed you so much. I think we worried just as much about you as we did for the poor Legion who we assumed would be taking care of you. The 31st century might never recover."

"Thanks, cuz; nice to know you missed me!"

After one very emotional group hug, Kal-El suggested they go home, discreetly. "I don't know if it's safe to reveal that you're alive, Lois. I'll call Oliver and we hopefully can meet somewhere."

After much explanation about what was currently going on and a number of repeated apologies for the secrets they'd kept from Lois, a few hours later they were on the train to a small town near Metropolis. Lois was snuck into a hospital room listed as a patient 'x' who had been bandaged up on arrival several months ago apparently presumed to be another barely alive comatose victim of the monster that had terrorized and killed so many that day in Metropolis.

Oliver had taken care of the cover story and instructed her to remain quiet a few days and then miraculously wake up and storm out of the hospital with as little fuss as possible.

She agreed to make her way back to Metropolis and this time with as much fuss as possible threaten to sue the DP for being sacked while she was lying half dead in a hospital bed from injuries caused by being attacked by her boss. She was even encouraged to threaten to sue Tess Mercer personally if she didn't get her job back immediately.

She would be an extra inside eyes and ears for the Justice League; she volunteered that before Oliver even thought of asking her.

Once Lois was settled it was late in the evening and Kal-El flew with Chloe to meet Oliver at the JL headquarters and filled him in on the rest of their very unusual day, letting him know that the gifts from the future were safely locked up in the Fortress, and saving for last, "Watchtower and I are engaged."

Oliver grinned as he got up from his chair and hugged them both, "About time… Congratulations! Have you set a date?"

"As soon as possible; but we would like to wait until Moira has time to recover after she's started on her cure. Let me know when it's safe to get the medicine to her. We would also like to make a short trip to Washington to visit the Senator and invite her to the wedding. Chloe would also like to locate Gabe; we haven't heard from him in some time. On the way here we talked about also waiting until Zod and apparently Doomsday again, according to our time travelers, are dealt with but Zod could take months to even reveal himself; we'd rather not wait. I've waited too long already to try to make this beautiful woman happy," Kal-El confessed.

Suddenly Chloe became agitated on the small couch beside him, "Oh, no, Clark, oh my God, I—"

Kal-El turned towards her; the sound of his name from her lips lifting a weight he had not realized was still left on his heart. He raised his hand to her chin and lifted her face to his, her worried eyes not yet registering the transformation in him as he whispered, "I'm whole now. I love you, Chloe," and kissed her gently before asking, "What's wrong?"

"I-I lost the ring… I don't remember what happened to it; I didn't even get a chance to open the box and look at it…I'm sorry…" she was close to tears.

"Right pocket of your sweatshirt. You dropped it when we jumped up in shock at the arrival of our sudden unexpected guests in the Fortress. I picked it up while you were hugging Lois."

She reached in her pocket and then slowly opened the jeweler's box, her eyes wide at the three small heart-shaped diamonds on a gold band, "It's beautiful. Thank you." And then she turned the box towards him and smiling asked, "We have a witness, would you like to make it official?"

Kal-El smiled at Oliver's surprised expression as he slid off the couch unto his knees, took out the ring and slowly slipped it on Chloe's left hand, his eyes watching her face as he asked, "Will you marry me, Chloe?"

Chloe tenderly framed his face with her hands, "Clark Kent, born Kal-El, yes I would love to marry you," she answered him solemnly as he reached up and pulled her down close enough to touch his lips to hers.

They quickly forgot they still had a witness until several minutes later Oliver teased them, "Ah, okay kids; that couch is definitely not big enough and there's no bed in this place…so…"

Still somewhat lost in their own special world; both stood up slowly yet not taking their eyes off each other as they reluctantly ended their kissing session.

Oliver took pity on them, "Take a few days off to celebrate your engagement. I should be able to arrange safe transport to the location where Mrs. Sullivan is hospitalized by Wednesday; I'll call you before then, okay? Now get out of here and have a little fun."

They walked arm in arm to the nearest subway station and after many changes, ended up in front of the same small spaghetti restaurant where they'd had that first official 'date' many weeks ago. He smiled as they stood outside, "Could I interest my bride to be in a very late delicious Italian dinner?"

She laughed and hugged him tightly. He had no choice but to kiss her because her smiling lips were too inviting to resist. When he finally and most reluctantly let her go, she smiled up at him, "Rokk said 'descendents,' didn't he?"

The look in her eyes showed him dreams they hadn't even dared to imagine as he quietly answered her, "Yes."

She took his hands in hers and spoke as if in awe of a miracle she couldn't quite believe yet, "We'll have a child? Children?"

As he pulled her back into a tight embrace the heat did not stop with his eyes, it consumed his entire being; and yet it was not the temperature of lust and hunger, but the warmth of love such as he had never felt before.

He knew there were no guarantees; their futures were not engraved in stone yet; but he dared to hope. They would survive--the world would survive Zod and Doomsday. He smiled down at her and with undisguised longing whispered, "A family," before he kissed her again.

She returned the kiss and then suddenly pulled back a little without leaving his embrace. With laughter in her voice as well as in her eyes, she told him "We're going to be together for a very…very long time," as if Lois' revelation had just sunk in.

The pleasure in her voice filled his heart with love for her as he felt confident enough to teasingly ask her, "And I take it you're very happy about that?"

He didn't think a thousand years together could ever cause him to tire of seeing how happy she was at that moment as she laughed, "Oh, yes! And it's entirely your fault, and you know it."

The eyes that looked down into hers were mesmerizing in that hypnotic alien way she had loved for so long as he told her, 'Yeah, I know…"

And those lips that spread into a smile showed every ounce of that Kansas farm boy charm that only he could get away with as he quietly and happily acknowledged and confessed his guilt.

"… I'm responsible…."

--- _**The End**_---


End file.
